CATALOGUE 

THE  EXHIBITION  OF 

U K I Y O Y E 

PAINTINGS  AND  PRINTS 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/catalogueexhibitOOyama 


CATALOGUE 


THE  EXHIBITION  OF  UKIYOYE 
PAINTINGS  AND  PRINTS 


AT 

The  Yamanaka  Galleries 

254  FIFTH  AVENUE 
NEW  YORK 


February  27th,  to  March  1 4th, 
1908 


AL£^ANDBR  PKKS!^, 
18-20  Astor  Place, 
Nbw  York 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


]y[ESSRS.  YAMANAKA  AND  COMPANY 
are  appropriately  celebrating  the  open- 
ing of  their  New  Gallery,  with  a choice 
Exhibition  of  Japanese  Paintings  and  Prints, 
belonging  to  the  Edo  popular  school  of  Ukiyoye. 
From  their  large  stock  they  have  selected  ex- 
amples of  the  best  periods  and  masters,  in  an 
almost  uniformly  remarkable  state  of  preserva- 
tion. Many  of  the  impressions  have  the  sharp- 
ness of  proofs.  Paintings  by  several  of  the  same 
artists,  are  so  added  to  the  Prints  as  to  make 
possible  a direct  comparison  between  these  two 
lines  of  work.  It  has  been  a pleasure  to  write, 
at  request,  such  a full  Catalogue  of  both  series 
as  will  enable  visitors  to  make  for  themselves 
a careful  historical  study  of  this  branch  of 
Oriental  Art. 

Krnkst  Francisco  FknoIvIvOSA 


New  York,  February  25th,  1908. 


CATALOGUE 


PAINTINGS. 


Matahei. 

Dancing  figure  of  a girl  with  a fan  on 
a gold  ground.  It  was  Hideyoshi’s  school 
of  Kano  Yeitoku  and  his  followers,  who, 
toward  the  end  of  the  Sixteenth  Century 
for  the  first  time  changed  the  Chinese 
subjects  of  their  brilliant  mural  paintings 
to  Japanese. 

This  occasional  change  was  followed  as 
a regular  profession  in  the  early  Seven- 
teenth Century  by  several  artists  who 
based  their  technical  methods  upon  the 
Kano.  Among  these  were  at  least  two 
who  bore  the  name  of  Matahei.  The 
greater  of  these  was  the  one  who  painted 
the  famous  Hikone  screen  in  Japan. 

It  has  been  said  by  some  Japanese  crit- 
ics that  no  artist  named  Matahei  can  be 
identified,  but  it  is  just  as  well  to  give 
his  name  to  the  finest  work  of  this  sort, 
which  centers  from  about  the  years  1620 
to  1640.  This  painting  and  the  five  fol- 


lowing  must  belong  to  the  later  phases  of 
this  movement,  but  whether  they  are  by 
the  identical  hand  that  painted  the  earlier 
Hikone  screen  is  uncertain. 

The  patterns  in  the  garments  are  here 
becoming  minute.  Very  charming  is  the 
treatment  of  the  flying  storks.  The  maple 
and  water  design  upon  the  fan  is  in  the 
style  of  Koyetsu. 

Date,  from  1640  to  1650 


2.  Matahei. 

Girl  dancing,  with  a fan.  In  this  the 
larger  and  more  fantastic  pattern  recalls 
the  work  of  the  Hikone  screen,  but  the 
figure  is  not  so  slender  or  graceful.  The 
two-footed  objects  embroidered  in  gold 
upon  the  dress  are  the  bridges  used  in 
raising  the  strings  of  the  musical  instru- 
ment called  the  koto.  The  design  on  the 
fan,  the  sun  rising  behind  grasses,  seems 
to  be  in  the  style  of  Kano  Takanobu. 

Date,  about  1640  to  1650. 


3.  Matahei. 

Girl  dancing,  with  fan.  The  costume  is 
very  splendid  in  color  with  its  fully 
worked  out  large  medallions  of  dragons 


in  gold  against  a barred  pattern  of  gold 
and  green  on  black.  Here  are  the  new 
dances  which  delighted  the  populace  of 
Tokugawa  days,  the  predecessors  of  the 
present  geisha  dancing.  The  design  of 
hills  upon  the  fan  seems  to  be  by  a Tosa 
artist. 

Date,  1640  to  1650. 

4.  Matahei. 

Girl  dancing,  with  fan.  The  beautiful, 
strange,  low-toned  costume  has  patterns 
of  dragon-flies  in  blue,  green,  black,  yel- 
low and  cream,  flying  over  a silver 
ground.  On  the  sleeves  this  silver  pours 
over  an  under  spotting  of  white,  as  if  it 
v/ere  the  glaze  of  pottery.  Here  the 
sinuous  twist  of  the  figure  approximates 
to  the  style  of  the  Hikone  screen. 

Date,  1640  to  1650. 


5.  Matahei. 

Girl  dancing,  with  a closed  fan.  This 
has  the  most  beautiful  pattern  on  the 
dress,  composed  of  great  phoenix  or  Hoo 
birds  in  kaleidoscopic  colors  flying  over  a 
clouded  gray  ground.  The  expression  of 
the  face  is  specially  sweet. 

Date,  1640  to  1650. 


6.  Matahei. 


Girl  dancing,  with  fan.  Here  the  move- 
ment is  quiet  and  pensive,  as  if  it  were 
approaching  the  cadence  of  the  dance. 
The  pearly  medallions  are  done  in  blue 
and  white  peacocks. 

■These  six  panels  were  originally  paint- 
ed, in  all  probability,  for  a single  low 
screen.  In  type  of  figure  and  pattern 
they  stand  just  between  the  early  work 
of  the  century  and  the  late  work  of 
Moronobu. 

Date,  1640  to  1650. 


7.  Hishkawa  Moroshige. 

Young  man  reading  a novel.  Moro- 
shige is  an  early  companion  of  Alorono- 
bu,  the  founder  of  the  Hishikawa  school. 
It  is  possible  that  he  may  be  a younger 
brother.  Here  the  drawing  is  similar  to 
Moronobu’s  in  his  middle  period.  The 
painting  is  very  light  and  pearly  in  tone. 
The  tokonoma,  with  its  one  plant  in  a jar, 
is  well  rendered.  The  reader  has  thrown 
his  sword  behind  him  on  the  mat,  and 
taken  an  easy  attitude,  with  his  back 
against  an  arm-rest.  The  volumes  of  the 
old  story  lie  open  on  a rack. 

Date,  about  1680  to  1685. 


8.  Hishikawa  Morofusa. 

This  figure  of  a woman  in  her  pale, 
dawn-tinted  robes  checkered  with  thin 
gold  squares  on  which  are  jewel-like 
paintings  of  ancient  scenes  of  poetry  and 
romance,  has  a lithe  grace  and  charm  that 
are  lacking  in  many  of  the  more  elaborate 
depictions  of  later  artists.  One  feels  the 
turn  and  pose  of  the  body  within  the  rich 
dress. 

Morofusa  was  probably  the  eldest  son 
of  Moronobiq  and  this  represents  the  late 
work  of  the  school  when  it  is  just  about 
to  pass  into  the  richer  toning  of  Choshun. 
The  beautiful  painting  of  the  panels  show 
ing  illustrations  of  the  ancient  romances 
might  have  been  painted  by  the  very  hand 
of  Sumiyoshi  Gukei.  The  very  special 
harmony  between  the  mounting,  the  old 
ivory  toned  silk  and  the  colors  of  the  robe 
should  be  noted. 

Date,  about  1703. 


9.  Miyagawa  Choshun. 

Very  fine  and  rare  painting  of  a young 
girl  dressed  in  the  most  fashionable  of 
street  costumes.  It  is  as  if  a new  world 
had  supplanted  that  of  the  Hishikawa. 
All  the  old  poetical  feeling  and  ancient 
allusion,  in  which  the  latter  affiliated  with 


the  patrician  schools  of  Kano  and  Tosa, 
is  here  discarded  for  the  sheer  pictur- 
esqneness  of  the  costumes  of  a people 
now  cut  off  from  the  samurai  by  distinc- 
tion of  caste.  The  blue  stripes  on  a fawn 
ground  and  the  gilt  plum-blossoms  on  the 
scarlet  lining  are  a pure  Yeddo  invention. 
'The  change,  indeed,  concerns  the  sup- 
planting of  Kioto  standards  with  the 
popular  tastes  of  the  new  capital.  How 
picturesque  the  great  sweeps  of  the  large 
sleeves  and  the  ample  skirt.  The  new 
fashion  of  hair  dressing  has  abolished  all 
excresences  over  the  forehead  and  the 
ears,  and  has  put  the  weight  of  the  hair 
into  a long,  flat,  extended  thrust,  like  a 
beaver’s  tail,  behind  the  neck.  This  last 
proves  the  date  to  be  about  1715. 


Okumura  Masanobu. 

Rare  painting  of  a tall  woman  in  loose 
street  over-robe.  The  picturesqueness  of 
the  new  patterns  has  now  become  more 
extravagant.  Blocks  a dozen  color  con- 
trasts cut  the  garments  into  patches  of 
mere  brilliancy.  The  glossy  black  of  the 
coat  suggests  the  lacquer  hand-painting 
of  contemporary  prints.  In  fact,  the 
whole  painting  is  the  exact  analogue  of 
the  urushi-ye  of  about  1730. 


Though  unsigned,  there  can  be  no  ques- 
tion that  this  is  a fine  and  rare  original 
work  of  the  artist. 

Date,  about  1730. 


II.  Harushige. 

As  in  the  prints,  the  great  change  from 
the  primitives  in  ukiyo-ye  painting  is  af- 
fected by  Suzuki  Harunobu.  His  paint- 
ings are  very  rare,  but  we  have  here  a 
most  beautiful  picture  by  one  of  his  pu- 
pils. 

The  charm  of  the  little,  slender  mother 
who  is  blowing  bubbles  to  amuse  her 
child,  dancing  with  delight,  is  increased 
by  the  delicate  wonder  of  the  colors  she 
wears.  The  transparent  gray  robe  be- 
comes a purple  through  the  suffusion  of 
the  revealed  pink  of  her  flesh,  but  where 
it  trails  below  it  is  darkened  with  flower- 
shaped medallion  in  deep  blue  fringed 
with  green  leaves.  The  effect  is  jewel- 
like. 

Date,  about  1774. 


12.  Koriusai. 

A charcoal  girl  astride  her  pack,  riding 
upon  the  back  of  a great  bullock. 

Koriusai  was  perhaps  the  most  famous 
pupil  of  Harunobu.  Certainly  in  the  ma- 


king  of  polychrome  prints,  especially  in 
the  size  known  as  kakemono-ye,  he  very 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  equalled  the  master. 

A painting  by  Koriusai  is  rare  indeed. 
In  this  there  is  an  unusual  delicacy  of 
coloring  in  the  garments  of  the  girl,  and 
a softness  of  treatment  in  the  willow  tree 
above  and  the  huge  body  of  the  animal 
below. 

Date,  about  1777. 


13.  Shunman. 

Among  the  romantic  subjects  loved  by 
the  ukiyo-ye  artists,  this  offering  of  a 
spray  of  the  yama-buki  flowers  is  one  of 
which  they  never  tire.  It  illustrates  a 
poem,  not  here  written  out. 

This  is  a very  early  painting  by  Shun- 
man, and  still  retains  the  inlluence  of  his 
master,  Shigemasa.  The  drawing  of  the 
Autumn  flowers  on  her  black  robe  is  bril- 
liant. The  thick,  pointed  wings  of  the 
hair  show  that  the  period  is  approaching 
Temmei. 

Date,  about  1779. 


14.  Shunman. 

Very  rare  and  fine  painting  by  this 
artist  of  a lady  and  her  maid  walking, 
with  a lantern,  by  a river.  Shunman 


now  has  the  whole  range  of  Kiyonaga’s 
work  to  build  upon,  and  so  he  is  here 
seen  at  his  strongest.  He  gives  a new 
and  individual  swirl  to  water,  to  willow 
branches  and  the  long  sleeves  of  his 
lady.  In  such  realistic  bits  as  the  draw- 
ing of  the  lantern  he  is  approached  only 
by  Kiyonaga  and  Hokusai. 

Date,  about  1790. 

15.  Utagawa  Toyoharu. 

This  rich  and  splendid  painting  by 
Toyoharu  suggests,  in  its  proportions  and 
the  placing  of  the  figure,  the  long,  narrow 
prints  or  kake-mono-ye  so  rarely  yet  so 
finely  done  by  him. 

This  represents  neither  a lady  nor  a 
tea-house  girl,  as  is  usual  in  ukiyo-ye,  but 
a maid  servant  starting  out  on  some  night 
errand  with  her  round  lantern  fastened 
to  the  end  of  a lacquered  stick.  The 
sleeve  held  to  her  mouth  indicates  either 
timidity  or  distress.  The  color  is  put  in 
with  a wonderfully  free  and  broad  wash. 
The  proportions  are  of  Kiyonaga. 

Date,  about  1786. 


16.  Katsukawa  Shunsho. 

A very  rare  and  beautiful  painting  of  a 
woman  standing  at  the  garden  door  of 


her  room.  Torn  pieces  of  a letter  have 
just  been  thrown  by  her  on  the  verandah. 
Her  agitation  she  betrays,  not  in  any  vio- 
lent motion  but  by  the  restrained  way  in 
which  she  tears  with  her  teeth  the  re- 
mainder of  the  offending  missive. 

The  drawing  has  all  the  fineness  of 
Shunsho’s  plates  in  the  Seiro  Bijin 
Awase ; even  the  same  dignified  treatment 
of  bamboo  stems,  and  ornamental  leaves. 
The  color  is  all  Shunsho’s  own,  deep,  cool 
claret  edged  with  sk}^-blue  for  the  dress, 
just  balancing  the  soft  green  of  the  plants. 
The  picture  is  wonderfully  mounted. 

Date,  about  1778. 


17.  Shunsho. 

Large  portrait  bust  of  a Yeddo  belle. 
The  proportions  are  almost  of  natural 
scale.  The  execution  is  of  fine  finish,  the 
main  angles  setting  strongly  into  the 
frame.  The  hair,  pointed  in  the  Kiyona- 
ga  style,  indicates  a date  about  1784. 


18.  Yeishi. 

A girl  in  a green  kimono  beautifully 
embroidered  in  white  vine-leaves,  and  a 
deep  orange  colored  sash  brocaded  in 
gold,  is  about  to  step  from  a low  river- 


pier  into  a waiting  boat.  The  willow 
branch  in  full  leaf  shows  that  the  time  is 
mid-summer. 

Yeishi  here  gives  us  the  analogue  of 
that  long  series  of  tall,  loosely  drawn  fig- 
ures, when  the  balloon  of  the  hair  is 
forming. 

Date,  about  1798. 

19.  Utagawa  Toyokuni. 

Finely  executed  painting  of  a very  tall 
girl  in  green  tuning  her  semisen.  The 
cool  olive  of  the  robe  is  made  more  beau- 
tiful by  the  blue  and  brown  flowers  em- 
broidered on  the  skirt.  The  head,  in  the 
new  elongated  style,  is  a masterpiece. 
Compares  with  prints  of  about  the  date 
1800. 


20.  20  and  21.  Utagawa  Toyohiro. 

Very  fine  pair  of  large  paintings,  show- 
ing contrasted  scenes  of  summer  and 
winter.  Each  shows  two  tall  women  of 
the  most  exaggerated  Kiowa  type.  Toyo- 
hiro, as  here,  often  gives  more  attention 
to  his  values  than  does  his  brother,  Toyo- 
kuni, thus  making  his  figures  stand  for- 
ward like  Kiyonaga’s  against  the  atmos- 
pheric background  of  the  landscape. 


In  the  summer  picture  the  maid  points 
out  to  her  mistress  some  feature  of  the 
show,  perhaps,  which  they  are  approach- 
ing. The  transparent  gray  of  the  lady’s 
outer-robe  charmingly  reveals  the  pink 
petals  of  her  underdress. 

In  the  winter  picture  the  slender  forms 
are  clad  in  thicker  stuff,  and  they  freely 
open  their  door  to  the  crisp  air  from  the 
snow-laden  garden.  The  dull  ochre  red 
of  the  standing  figure,  barred  with  yellow, 
makes  a fine  note  against  the  luminous 
landscape. 

The  value  of  both  pictures  is  enhanced 
by  the  poetical  comment  so  freely  written 
above  by  the  great  scholar  and  novelist, 
Santo  Kioden. 

Date,  about  i8oi. 


Utamaro. 

Famous  painting  of  a young  girl 
stepping  out  of  her  bath.  Here  is  that 
rare  thing  for  a Japanese  artist,  to  repre- 
sent the  nude.  The  hot  water  has  given 
the  skin  a fine  glow  of  pink.  As  she  steps 
back  to  the  precarious  level  of  the  bench 
she  balances  with  her  left  hand  against 
the  door.  The  coils  of  the  jet  hair  are 
wonderfully  drawn. 


Date,  about  1803. 


23-  Rakusentei  Yeiri. 

Picturesque  group  of  two  young  girls 
walking  in  a violent  wind.  The  low  land- 
scape shown  behind  is  charmingly  ren- 
dered in  a style  derived  from  the  Chinese 
scholars.  In  the  figures  the  dominating 
influence  is  from  Utamaro,  but  there  is 
also  a suggestion  of  Hokusai. 

Date,  about  1802. 


PRINTS. 


1.  Torii  Kiyonobu. 

Large  sumi-ye.  Design  of  two  armor- 
ed warriors  in  hand  to  hand  combat. 

Single  sheet  printing  was  made  a cheap 
substitute  for  painting  late  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  by  the  artist  Moronobu. 
Such  prints  were  cut  from  a single  block, 
and  printed  in  black,  hence  the  name  ‘'Su- 
mi-ye,” or  “ink  picture.”  The  successors 
of  Moronobu,  chiefly  Torii  Kiyonobu  and 
his  brother  Kiyomasu,  continued  the  su- 
mi-ye  into  the  early  eighteenth  century, 
and  frequently  composed  in  them  dramatic 
groups  of  legendary  warfare,  or  theatri- 
cal scenes  on  the  newly  invented  stage.  As 
in  this  case,  the  action  is  represented  with 
tremendous  vigor. 

Date,  about  1705. 

2.  Torii  Kiyomasu. 

Large  Tan-ye  print.  This  represents 
two  actors,  a male  and  female  figure,  in 
some  theatrical  dialogue.  The  male  actor 
is  the  celebrated  Ichikawa  Danjuro,  proba- 


bly  the  second  generation  of  that  name. 
The  second  stage  of  printing  is  here 
reached,  in  which  the  outline  ink  impres- 
sion is  filled  in,  for  the  whole  or  part  of 
the  edition  with  colors  applied  by  hand. 
Of  these  colors  the  dominant  one  was  at 
first  red  lead,  in  Japanese,  tan,  hence  the 
name,  Tan-ye.  This  form  of  print  reached 
its  highest  stage  from  1710  to  1715. 

Date,  about  1715. 


3.  Torii  Kiyonobu. 

Small  print  of  the  actor  size.  Very 
brilliant  design  of  a female  figure  on  the 
stage,  bearing  a leafy  branch. 

This  second  stage  of  the  hand-colored 
printing  is  called  Kurenai-ye,  meaning 
red  picture,  because  the  dominant  color 
was  now  changed  from  tan  to  a transpar- 
ent red.  The  supporting  colors  were  at 
the  same  time  made  more  elaborate.  The 
Kurenai-ye  usually  have  no  background 
except  the  ivory  tint  of  the  paper.  They 
lasted  for  only  two  or  three  years. 

Date,  about  1718. 


4.  Okumura  Masanobu. 

Small  Urushi-ye  print  of  the  actor  size. 
This  figure,  an  actor,  represents  a young 


girl  walking  pensively  with  a letter  in  her 
hand  by  a small  stream. 

The  third  stage  of  the  hand-colored 
prints  is  generally  a development  of  the 
Kurenai-ye  by  the  addition  of  a back- 
ground design,  as  of  lacquer  as  a medium 
for  applying  some  of  the  colors,  espe- 
cially the  black,  hence  the  name  ‘‘Urushi- 
ye,’’  or  “lacquer  picture.”  The  rich  black 
of  the  sash,  and  the  pale  olive  of  the  up- 
per garment  are  here  mixed  with  lacquer. 
Masanobu  founds  a school  parallel  with 
that  of  the  Torii  in  which  the  faces  and 
the  figures  are  a little  more  graceful. 

Date,  about  1722. 


5.  Okumura  Toshinobu. 

Small  Urushi-ye  of  the  actor  size.  De- 
sign of  a young  man  carrying  boxes  con- 
taining fans.  The  lines  of  drapery  are  here 
finely  composed,  and  the  dark  olive  of  the 
dress  is  applied  with  lacquer. 

Date,  about  1722. 


6.  Torii  Kiyomasu. 

Small  urushi-ye  of  actor  size.  Figured 
design  of  a tall  lady  in  a palace,  with  a 
bird  cage  and  a large  painted  screen.  This 


print  may  be  classed  with  urushi-ye,  al- 
though in  this  particular  case  no  lacquer 
was  used.  The  colors  have  faded  to  an 
harmonious  softness.  The  drapery  lines 
of  the  Torii  school  at  this  date  are  the 
most  noble  in  composition.  The  hair 
reaches  far  down  and  back  behind  the 
neck. 

Date,  about  1725. 


7.  Nishimura  Shigenaga. 

Small  urushi-ye  print  of  the  actor  size. 
It  represents  a traveling  priest  gazing  at 
Mount  Fuji.  Shigenaga,  who  comes  from 
the  school  of  Okumura  Masanobu,  first 
introduces  distant  landscape  into  his  back- 
grounds. Those  here  shown  are  scenes 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Fuji,  famous  for 
poetic  association. 

Date,  about  1735. 


8.  Okumuru  Masanobu. 

Exceptionally  large  urushi-ye,  repre- 
senting the  interior  of  a theatre  during  a 
performance.  The  elaborate  color  is  still 
applied  entirely  by  hand,  but  the  use  of 
lacquer  at  this  late  day  is  discontinued. 
About  1742  the  use  of  hand  coloring  for 


small  and  cheap  prints  is  supplanted  by 
colors  printed  from  wooden  blocks ; but 
for  complicated  pieces  like  this  hand  col- 
oring is  retained  for  a few  years  longer. 
The  design  of  the  theatre  and  stage  at  this 
date  is  of  great  interest,  as  is  also  the  rep- 
resentation of  a contemporary  Japanese 
audience  sitting  in  boxes  on  the  floor  and 
in  the  galleries. 

Date,  about  1742. 


9.  Okumura  Masanobu. 

Very  large  and  striking  hand  colored 
print  of  a boy  holding  up  a puppet. 
With  such  puppets  miniature  theatrical 
scenes  were  enacted.  This  artist,  now 
past  his  seventieth  year,  is  still  growing 
in  splendor  of  drapery  lines  and  in  the 
rich  opposition  of  color  masses.  At  this 
date  small  patterns,  and  especially  checks, 
are  conspicuous  in  the  garments.  Such 
large  pieces  were  now  made  only  as  a 
sort  of  edition  de  luxe  for  the  more 
wealthy  buyers. 

Date,  about  1745. 


.10.  Torii  Kyomasu. 

Fine  example  of  a beni-ye  in  small 
actor  size. 


Here  is  represented  a stage  scene  in 
wiiicli  two  figures  are  fighting  with 
branches  of  blossoming  plum. 

In  such  small  prints,  after  1742,  two 
tints  only,  at  first  rose  and  green,  were 
applied  from  wooden  blocks,  instead  of 
by  hand.  It  was  this  very  limitation  of 
the  colors  which  at  once  produced  a 
popular  cheapness  and  also  led  to  a pro- 
gressive color  composition  in  the  oppo- 
sition of  simple  tones.  The  black  of  the 
original  ink  block  and  the  white  of  the 
paper  are  made  to  break  against  the 
green  and  rose  with  much  variety  of  ef- 
fect. The  name  of  this  kind  of  print 
is  taken  from  the  transparent  pigment  of 
the  pink,  beni. 

Date,  about  1743. 


Okumura  Masanobu. 

Very  large  sized  beni-ye  printed  in 
two  tones.  It  represents  a young  woman 
lighting  a pipe.  All  the  artists  who  had 
worked  for  years  in  the  urushi-ye  now 
designed  in  the  new  technique,  the  lead- 
ers of  the  two  schools  being  still  the  vet- 
erans, Torii  Ktyonobu  and  Okumura 
Masanobu,  each  having  been  prominently 
before  the  public  for  about  fifty  years. 
Masanobu,  as  here,  still  retains  suprem- 


acy  for  grace  of  figure  and  charm  of 
composition,  and  derives  his  subjects 
rather  from  street  scenes  and  portrait 
studies  of  dancing  girls  than  from  theat- 
rical groups.  The  original  schemes  in 
which  his  several  colors  play  against  each 
other  are  here  finely  exemplified.  Such 
striking  prints  by  Okumura  are  now  ex- 
ceedingly rare,  and  held  as  the  great 
treasures  of  large  collections. 

Date,  about  1746. 


12.  Okumura  Masanobu. 

Very  large  beni-ye  in  two  tones.  This 
represents  a street  group  of  two  belles, 
whose  special  robes  their  boy  carries  in 
a box.  With  later  years  the  colors  be- 
came gradually  darker,  but  Masanobu’s 
charm  in  the  handling  of  his  delicate, 
swaying  girls  never  ceases.  The  attitude 
of  the  girl  in  green,  who  is  reading  a 
letter,  is  especially  fine.  The  tones  of 
the  boy’s  dress,  broken  with  much  white, 
come  out  in  an  almost  jewel-like  bright- 
ness. It  will  be  noticed  that  a third  color, 
a sort  of  dull  purple,  has  been  deliberate- 
ly produced  in  places  by  printing  the 
green  over  the  red. 


Date,  about  1750 


13-  Ishikawa  Toyonobu. 

Very  large  tall  beni-ye  in  two  tones. 
A graceful  young  man  is  walking  on 
clogs  in  large  blue  overcoat  and  half 
closing  his  umbrella. 

This  artist  is  the  principal  pupil  of 
Masanobu,  and  continues  the  latter’s 
style  of  representing  belles  and  young 
boys  after  the  latter’s  death.  Here  Toyo- 
nobu has  substituted  a dull  blue  for  the 
color  of  the  green  block. 

Date,  about  1750. 


14.  Ishikawa  Toyonobu. 

Large  square  beni-ye  print  in  two  tones. 
Here  a young  boy  is  represented  as  danc- 
ing with  the  lion  masque  against  back- 
ground of  peonies.  The  green  has  now 
become  an  olive  which,  printed  over  the 
red  in  places,  produces  a third  tone  of 
bronze. 

Date,  about  1754. 


15.  Torii  Kiyohiro. 

Beautiful  large  beni-ye  in  two  tones, 
representing  a young  Samurai,  who  talks 
to  a girl  holding  an  abacus.  This  is  a 
group  from  the  theatre. 


Kiyohiro  is  a new  name  in  the  Torii 
family,  coming  in  just  as  his  predecessors 
Kiyonobu  and  Kiyomasu,  are  about  to 
pass  away.  He  was  probably  a brother  of 
the  Torii  Kiyomitsu  who  inherited  the 
headship  of  the  family  after  Kiyomasu. 
Kiyohiro  has  here  chosen  a clear  blue  for 
his  darker  tone,  the  pink  having  been  di- 
luted to  a pale  tint.  The  elaborate  breaking 
of  the  colors  into  each  other  in  subdivided 
pattern,  follows  the  method  of  Masanobu. 
The  composition  is  exceptionally  beauti- 
ful. 

Date,  about  1748. 


1 6.  Torii  Kiyomitsu. 

Large  beni-ye  print  in  two  tones.  This 
represents  a young  girl  as  a monkey  train- 
er, who  beats  a small  hand  drum  for  her 
monkey  to  perform  his  antics.  The 
ground  of  her  under  dress  has  the  unus- 
ual tone  of  black. 

Date,  about  1756. 


1 7.  Torii  Kiyomitsu. 

Small  actor  beni-yet  print  in  three  tones. 
Woman  carrying  two  swords  and  a ro- 
nin’s  hat. 


About  1758  a third  color-block  was 
added,  and  regularly  used  till  1765.  The 
chief  designer  in  this  new  style  was  this 
new  head  of  the  Torii  school,  Kiyomitsu. 
The  color  chosen  for  the  third  block  was 
at  first,  as  here,  a pale  yellow.  In  this 
print  the  gray  has  also  been  superposed 
over  the  yellow  upon  the  hat,  thus  giving  a 
fourth  tone  of  a warmer  olive. 

Date,  about  1758. 


i8.  Torii  Kiyotsune. 

Small  actor  beni-ye  in  three  tones.  Very 
charming  figure  with  one  sword  and  a 
fan.  Here  the  color  scheme  is  well  com- 
posed in  the  three  primary  colors,  red,  blue 
and  yellow,  all  used  in  soft  tints. 

Kiyotsune  is  apparently  a son,  and  at 
least  a pupil  of  Kiyomitsu.  Such  an  early 
work  of  his  is  extremely  rare. 

Date,  about  1760. 


ig.  Torii  Kiyomitsu. 

Small  actor  beni-ye  in  three  tones.  Com- 
ic scene  of  a male  figure  playing  on  a 
broom  with  a fan,  instead  of  a samisen. 
A girl  comes  in  from  behind  with  the 
real  instrument.  Here  the  third  tone, 
the  yellow,  is  deep. 


Date,  about  1761. 


20.  Kitao  Shigemasa. 

Small  actor  beni-ye  in  three  tones. 
Young  girl  riding  upon  a horse.'  In  the 
background  is  seen  the  sacred  mountain 
Fuji. 

The  three  tones  here  chosen  are  rose, 
a soft  gray  and  a clear  yellow.  By  super- 
position of  the  yellow  and  the  gray  an 
olive  is  given  to  the  hills.  The  pattern  on 
the  garments  is  remarkably  distributed. 

This  young  artist  was  the  pupil  of  Ni- 
shimura  Shigenaga,  but  here  is  seen  as 
a follower  of  Kiyomitsu.  His  early  work 
of  the  beni-ye  period  is  rare. 

Date  about  1762. 


21.  Torii  Kiyomitsu. 

Tall,  narrow  “kakemono-ye”  or  pillar- 
print.  Fine  figure,  cleverly  placed,  of  a 
young  samurai.  Here  Kiyomitsu  has 
chosen  a rose  and  two  olives  for  his  three 
tones,  and  then  has  used  freely  a fourth, 
made  by  superposing  the  lighter  green 
over  the  rose.  The  strong  admixture  of 
the  blacks  in  the  elaborate  pattern  adds 
to  the  coolness  of  the  efifect. 


Date,  about  1763. 


22.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Very  beautiful  pillar-print  beni-ye  in 
three  tones.  Young  girl  in  rich  costume 
walking  under  an  umbrella. 

Harunobu,  originally  a pupil  of  Shige- 
naga,  has  now  become  the  great  rival  of 
Kiyomitsu.  The  drawing  of  his  figures 
is  less  stiff,  the  head  and  hair  more  beau- 
tifully drawn.  Here  he  has  chosen  for 
his  three  tones  a soft  pink,  yellow  and 
blue-gray.  By  superposing  the  gray  and 
the  pink  he  produced  a purple  and  freely 
used,  which  here  has  faded  into  some- 
thing like  a brown.  But  though  faded, 
the  colors  were  originally  very  soft,  and 
this  delicate  effect  was  what  the  rival 
artists  were  striving  for.  Harunobu’s 
beni-ye  are  extremely  rare,  and  this  is 
one  of  the  finest  specimens. 

Date,  about  1764. 


23.  Tsukioka  Tange. 

Small  square  polychromic  print.  The 
subject  is  three  ladies,  the  central  one  ap- 
parently a Chinese,  who  seems  to  be 
parodying,  with  the  tasted  contents  of  the 
jar,  the  Chinese  classic  design  of  the 
three  founders  of  religion,  Confucius, 
Laotse  and  Buddha. 


At  this  date  the  greatest  innovation  of 
Japanese  printing  was  made,  under  the 
leadership  of  Harnnobu,  of  using  as 
many  color  blocks  as  were  needed  for  the 
design,  without  super-position.  Ground- 
tones  were  used  for  the  several  sub- 
stances, as  here  in  the  sky  and  the  glazes 
of  the  jar.  The  third  intention  was  to 
make  the  scheme  of  colors  soft  and 
melting. 

Tange,  a Kioto  pupil  of  the  famous 
Sukenobu,  and  already  noted  as  an  il- 
lustrator of  books,  here  elects  to  follow 
Harunobu  in  his  single-sheet  experi- 
ments. The  composition,  coloring  and 
printing  are  most  beautiful. 

Date,  1765. 

Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Small  square  print  of  a cat  under  a 
begonia  plant,  watching  a butterfly. 
Hereafter  all  prints  being  polychrome, 
the  name  need  not  be  repeated. 

This  print,  though  unsigned,  should  be 
ascribed  to  Harunobu,  because  we  do  not 
know  of  any  such  early  experiment  by 
Koriusai.  Here  some  six  or  seven  tints 
have  been  most  delicately  placed,  the  grey 
of  the  sky  being  of  a tint  composed  of  a 
lead  pigment,  which  has  darkened  with 


oxydation.  The  tender  effects  reached 
far  surpass  anything  conceived  in  earlier 
color  printing. 

Date,  1765  or  6. 


25.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Very  charming  small  square  print  of 
a young  lady  walking  with  her  maid. 

Here  it  is  hard  to  say  whether  the  charm 
is  more  due  to  the  willowy  young  figures 
swaying  in  opposite  directions,  or  to  the 
frankness  and  fullness  of  the  color  mosaic. 
The  background  has  been  printed  of  a 
lovely  gray.  The  lady’s  overdress  has  the 
grace  of  its  lines  enhanced  by  its  embroid- 
ered pattern  of  willow  branches  in  snow. 

Date,  1766  or  67. 


26.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Small  square  print  of  a full  domestic 
scene. 

On  this  fine  print,  in  the  ground  alone 
six  clear,  soft  tints  are  used  to  differen- 
tiate the  substances  of  paper,  plaster,  win- 
dow, mats,  lacquer  and  iron.  Four  or  five 
more  brilliant  tints  are  used  in  the  cos- 
tumes. The  charm  of  Harunobu’s  design 
often  consists,  as  here,  in  the  representa- 


tion  of  little  human  household  scenes, 
which  have  naturally  been  ignored  by  the 
national  literature.  Here  a small  boy  is 
attaching  a long  streamer  to  the  hairpin 
of  his  sleeping  elder  sister.  Another  girl 
looks  on  with  amusement  at  the  mischief. 

Date,  1766  or  67. 


7.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Interesting  and  unusual  small  square 
print,  representing  a girl  in  a temple  grove 
washing  her  hands  at  a granite  basin  be- 
fore entering  the  sanctuary.  Here  the 
choice  of  the  spotted  gray  to  represent 
stone,  and  the  sombre  purples  and  olives 
of  the  sacred  cedar  trees  are  very  striking. 

Date,  1766  or  1767. 


8.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Very  brilliant  and  perfect  small  square 
print,  representing  a young  girl  bursting 
through  a heavy  gate,  a scene  parodying 
the  classic  story  of  Benkei.  Here  the 
warmth  of  the  tones  in  both  the  costume 
and  the  lacquered  gate  contrasts  finely  with 
the  grays  of  the  granite  wall  and  steps,  and 
of  the  tiles. 


Date,  about  1766  or  1767. 


2g.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Unusual  small  square  print,  represent- 
ing a young  man  fishing  with  a net  from  an 
improvised  straw  hut,  and  by  torchlight. 
The  effect  of  night,  given  by  the  black  of 
the  sl<y,  brings  into  luminosity  the  rosy 
flame  of  the  torch. 

Date,  1767. 


30.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Very  charming  small  square  print,  rep- 
resenting a young  boy  seated  near  a stream 
teaching  a graceful  girl  to  play  upon  a 
flute.  This  subject  parodies  the  similar 
lesson  given  by  the  ancient  Chinese  em- 
peror Genso  to  his  favorite  Yokihi.  The 
tender  drawing  of  the  thin  outlines  in  both 
of  these  figures  reaches  the  height  of 
beauty.  It  is  these  scenes  of  romantic  love 
between  the  very  young  which  Harunobu 
has  uniquely  made  his  specialty.  The 
spotting  on  the  white  dress  of  the  girl  of 
the  pattern  of  the  autumn  flower  creates 
a new  type  of  beauty  for  the  world. 

Date,  1767. 


31.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Delicate,  small  square  print  of  two 
figures  at  a hand-mill.  The  woman 


istops  to  listen  to  'the  singing  bird  that 
flies  past.  The  boy  is  dragging  a turtle 
by  a string. 

Date,  1767. 


32.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Charming  small  polychrome  print  of 
the  actor  size,  representing  a court  lady 
and  her  maid  looking  up  at  a blossoming 
cherry  tree.  The  composition  of  the  two 
figures  is  unusual  and  very  graceful,  the 
tones  being  kept  very  soft  against  a 
clear  paper  ground. 

Date,  1767. 


33.  Suzuki  Flarunobu. 

Very  rich  small  square  print  of  a do- 
mestic scene,  where  a young  boy,  who 
has  been  looking  at  a book  of  romantic 
illustrations,  turns  to  the  girl  who  re- 
gards him  coquettishly  from  the  win- 
dow ledge.  Here  it  is  the  close  juxtapo- 
sition of  three  separate  reds  that  is  so 
very  striking.  In  this  year  Harunobu 
begins  the  use  of  red  lead  to  represent 
the  tones  of  unpainted  wood.  The  in- 
terior isi  lighted  by  a candle  on  a tall 
lacquered  stand. 


Date,  iprobably,  1768. 


34-  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Small  square  print  of  a young  girl 
standing  at  a tea  house  bench  near  the 
bank  of  a stream.  Here  the  slight  oxy- 
dizing  of  the  lead  yellow  of  the  distant 
water,  and  of  the  orange  of  the  wooden 
bench,  only  add  to  the  silvery  impres- 
sion. 

Date,  about  1768. 


35.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Very  beautiful  and  clear  small  square 
print.  Here  is  a most  charming  glimpse 
of  the  entrance  to  a Japanese  house. 
The  door,  half-opened,  reveals  within 
the  soft  tints  of  the  mats  and  of  the 
plastered  wall  decorated  in  young  ferns, 
as  also  the  form  of  the  very  large 
wrought  iron  'hall  lantern.  A rustic 
window  opens  upon  a garden,  into 
which  a young  girl  with  a small  hand 
lamp  is  isttepping  from  the  verandah. 
The  rustic  fence  at  the  left,  from  be- 
hind which  sways  a spray  of  autumn 
flowers,  adds  greatly  to  the  composition. 

Date,  1768. 


36.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Unusual  small  square  print  of  two  girls 
in  a beautiful  pleasure  garden.  A rustic 


stone  slab  bridges  a stream  in  the  dis- 
tance, beyond  which  is  set  a stone  lantern. 
The  smaller  girl,  crouching,  fills  her  iron 
teapot  from  the  water  of  the  stream. 
Nothing  can  exceed  the  naive  grace  and 
beauty  of  the  young  girl  in  a purple  dress 
seated  above  on  the  red  felt  mat. 

Date,  1768. 


37.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Striking  small  scjuare  print  of  a young 
man  and  woman  hooded,  and  in  heavy 
winter  costume.  Standing  in  a snow 
storm  on  the  banks  of  a pond,  where 
are  swimming,  or  standing  on  the  islands, 
pairs  of  mandarin  ducks.  These,  in 
Japan,  on  account  of  their  going  in  pairs, 
are  the  recognized  symbol  of  conjugal 
love  and  fidelity.  In  the  pensive  gaze  of 
the  two  figures  one  can  clearly  read  the 
hope  of  their  hearts.  The  costumes  are 
printed  with  unusual  beauty. 

Date,  1768. 


38.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Small  square  print  representing  a 
young  couple  who  have  been  seated  at  a 
picnic  under  a cherry  tree,  being  dis- 
turbed by  a sudden  gust  of  rain.  The 


girl  hides  her  charming  head  under  her 
sleeve,  while  the  boy  struggles  to  open 
his  oiled  paper  umbrella. 

Date,  1768. 


Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Beautiful  wide  kakemono-ye  in  poly- 
chrome. This  represents  a young  girl 
standing  by  a smoking  tray,  and  holding 
in  her  hand  a small  toy  Daruma.  This 
probably  represents  not  any  remote  sym- 
bolism, but  the  thought  of  an  absent  child, 
to  whom  the  toy  is  to  be  taken.  Not 
only  is  this  in  line  one  of  Harunobu’s 
most  gracious  and  carefully  drawn  fig- 
ures, but  the  soft  opaque  dary  grey  of  the 
outer  garment  most  beautifully  harmo- 
nizes with  the  pale  rose  tints  of  the  inner 
robe. 

Date,  1768. 


Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Small  square  print.  A mother  is  hang- 
ing out  washed  clothes  on  a rack,  while  a 
child  runs  to  catch  a pet  chick.  The 
weight  of  snow  on  the  bamboo  sprays  is 
gracefully  rendered. 


Date,  1768. 


41.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Small  square  print,  showing  a charm- 
ing domestic  scene.  A young  mother  is 
setting  a pillow  and  arranging  a cover  for 
a little  child,  who  has  dropped  his  toys 
and  fallen  asleep  on  the  mat.  The  old 
grandmother  with  spectacles  is  arranging 
skeins  of  silk.  A cat  scratches  herself  on 
the  verandah.  A fine  folding  painted 
screen  shuts  out  the  light  behind.  The 
oxydation  of  the  lead  tones  produces  a re- 
markable silvery  effect. 


42.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Small  square  print  representing  a room 
lighted  by  a night  lamp,  where  a mother 
tries  to  pull  a reluctant  child  away  from 
his  toys  into  the  protecting  shelter  of  the 
green  mosquito  net  that  hangs  from  the 
ceiling.  A gold  screen  painted  in  the 
Kano  style  half  shuts  out  the  wall  at  the 
back. 


43.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Kakemono-ye  representing  a scene  in 
hot  mid-summer,  where  the  mother  wears 
a singue  gauzy  garment  through  which 
can  be  seen  the  lines  of  her  body.  As  she 


steps  from  the  garden  a child  behind  the 
sliding  door  clutches  at  her  skirt. 

Date,  1769. 


44.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Small  square  print  representing  girls  on 
a causeway  which  passes  near  the  corner 
of  a fenced-in  bamboo  grove.  They 
pause  to  listen  to  the  notes  of  the  unguisu 
bird  in  the  thicket. 

Date,  1769. 


45.  Suzuki  Karunobu. 

Small  isquare  print  representing  a 
young  man  disguised  as  a wandering 
ronin  coming  to  a house  where  two  girls 
watch  him  through  a rustic  window.  At 
this  date  Harunobu's  costumes  are  fre- 
quently in  white  barred  with  black. 

Date,  1769. 


46.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Kakemono-ye.  slender  girl,  dress- 
ed in  pink,  is  washing  clothes  at  a river, 
while  two  old  Chinese  sages,  who  should 
be  thinking  of  the  Principles  of  Confu- 
cius, are  watching  her  from  a distant 


hill  through  a telescope — >a.  moral  lesson 
delivered  with  a dash  of  humor. 


Date,  1769. 


47.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Splendidly  composed  large  square 
print.  A young  girl,  wading  in  a shal- 
low 'Stream,  offers  a spray  of  the  yellow 
yama-buki  flower  to  a woman  with  a 
pipe  who  crosses  the  stream  on  a white 
pack-horse.  Here  the  shell-like  curve 
of  the  side  hair  over  the  ears,  which  has 
been  kept  relatively  low  and  close  from 
about  1730,  is  now  so  raised  and  ex- 
panded as  to  change  the  whole  aesthetic 
balance  of  the  head,  and  it  is  partly  this 
new  fashion  which  demands  as  a com- 
plement the  specially  tall  figures  of  this 
date. 

Date,  1770. 

48.  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Kakemono-ye.  Tall  figure,  nearly 
nude,  of  one  of  the  girl-divers  for  shells 
who  is  wringing  out  the  water  from  her 
red  skirt.  To  her  from  the  distance  ap- 
proaches a monster  cuttlefish  with  'sin- 
ister expression  in  his  semi-human  face. 

Date,  1770. 


49-  Suzuki  Harunobu. 

Brilliant  large  square  print  represent- 
ing a stolen  interview  between  a young 
samurai  in  the  street,  and  a girl  crouch- 
ing be'hind  lacquered  wooden  bars.  Here 
the  new  balance  of  the  head  requires  an 
excessive  length  of  nose,  which  is  most 
characteristic  of  Harunobu’s  latest  man- 
ner.In  all  respects  the  piece  shows  tran- 
sition to  the  well-known  styles  of  Koriu- 
sai  that  follow  the  master  in  subsequent 
years. 

Date,  about  1771. 


50.  Torii  Kiyomitsu. 

Polychrome  print  of  the  actor  size, 
showing  a charmingly  composed  figure 
in  the  more  formed  Torii  style,  tuning  a 
samisen. 

Kiyomitsu,  after  Harunobu’s  innova- 
tion of  1765,  for  the  most  part  ceased  to 
compete  in  printed  designs  of  young 
girls,  confining  his  work  largely  to  the- 
atrical hand-bills.  But  'in  rare  cases, 
like  this,  he  has  ventured  to  use  all  the 
new  color  schemes  of  his  rival.  It  is  at 
this  date,  and  in  this  'style,  that  his 
young  adopted  son,  Torii  Kiyonaga,  who 
was  to  become  so  famous  ten  years  later, 
begins  his  print  designing. 

Date,  about  1768. 


51.  Tanaka  Masunobu. 

Kakemono-ye.  Girl  leaping  from  a 
terrace  with  a parachute.  Tanaka  Ma- 
sunobu was  another  pupil  of  Shigenaga, 
who  after  1765  followed  the  lead  of 
runobu.  The  colors  here  are  a little 
cold,  but  s'oft  and  clear. 

Date,  about  1769. 


52.  Koriusai. 

Small  square  print  of  the  size  invented 
by  Horunobu.  Girls  looking  through  a 
window  at  their  lovers  approaching  on  the 
causeway  through  a rain  storm.  The  at- 
titude of  these  distant  figures  braced 
against  the  wind  is  finely  rendered.  The 
colors  of  the  costumes  and  of  the  interior 
are  quite  in  the  manner  of  Harunobu, 
whose  pupil  Koriusai  became  from  about 
1767. 

Date,  1768. 


53.  Koriusai. 

Small  square  print  of  the  same  series  as 
the  last,  showing  girls  disembarking  from 
a pleasure  boat  near  the  end  of  a bridge 
over  the  Sumida  River.  Here  wide  use 


is  made  of  Harunobu’s  method  of  rem 
dering  wood  by  tones  of  red  lead. 

Date,  1768. 


54.  Koriusai. 

Small  square  print,  showing  a young 
man  and  a standing  girl  regarding  with 
interest  a large  ornamental  plant  of  the 
growing  in  porcelain  pot.  The 
drawing  of  the  fuyo  flowers  in  the  garden 
is  also  beautiful. 

Date,  1768. 


55.  Koriusai. 

Finely  preserved  kakemono-ye.  A 
young  boy  standing  under  a willow  plays 
on  a flageolet  to  a young  girl  who  lolls  on 
a rustic  bench.  Here  for  the  first  time  we 
see  that  strong  leaning  of  Koriusai  to  the 
use  of  dull  blues  in  dominant  masses, 
which  Harunobu  never  used.  The  draw- 
ing of  the  girl’s  figure  almost  achieves 
European  foreshortening,  the  sinuous 
curves  of  the  body  being  beautifully  felt 
under  the  rose  garment.  This  is  surely  one 
of  the  finest  figures  ever  drawn  by  an 
Ukiyo-ye-shi. 


Date,  about  1768. 


56. 


Koriusai. 


Small  square  print,  showing  in  charm- 
ing colors  a group  walking  in  a street  at 
night.  The  young  man  with  a sword 
throws  his  arm  lightly  about  the  girl’s 
shoulder,  while  his  servant  carries  a large 
lantern. 

Date,  about  1769. 


57.  Koriusai. 

Striking  kakemono-ye,  representing  a 
young  waitress  at  a tea  house.  The  small 
black  ring  which  she  holds  about  her  wrist 
is  a stand  used  for  passing  sake  cups.  The 
type  of  the  hairdressing  has  quite  changed, 
by  making  the  wings  over  the  ears  expand 
far  to  the  sides  and  also  fall  in  a deep 
curve. 

Date,  about  1777. 


58.  Koriusai. 

Fine  kakemono-ye  of  a girl  looking 
through  a window  at  a young  man  who 
removes  the  disguise  of  his  ronin  hat. 
Here  the  scheme  of  color  is  a contrast  of 
a silvery  white,  a velvety  black,  and  a deep 
tan  orange. 


Date,  about  1778. 


59-  Utagawa  Toyoharu. 

Large  square  print  with  the  large  di- 
mension lateral.  This  represents  an  im- 
aginative scene  in  a great  Chinese  palace 
opening  to  the  sea.  Seated  upon  the  floor, 
amusing  themselves  with  games,  music 
and  feasting,  are  seen  the  Seven  Gods  of 
Good  Luck.  A Dragon-Ship  filled  with 
bales  of  treasure  is  coming  into  port  from 
the  left.  Far  through  an  opening  on  the 
right  we  see  the  fire-proof  storehouses 
where  the  wealth  of  the  world  is  kept. 
We  may  speak  of  this  as  in  the  mythical 
Isles  of  the  Blest,  in  some  far  corner  of 
the  Pacific  ocean. 

Toyoharu  is  the  principal  pupil  of  that 
Ishikawa  Toyonobu  whose  best  work  was 
in  the  line  of  beni-ye.  Here  he  has  fol- 
lowed Harunobu’s,  and  especially  Koriu- 
sai’s  thought,  in  building  the  woods  of  the 
architecture  in  strong  orange.  But  the 
most  notable  feature  is  the  fine,  elaborate 
drawing  of  the  complex  architecture  in  a 
well-nigh  perfect  imitation  of  European 
perspective.  This  he  must  have  learned, 
even  if  indirectly,  from  the  Dutch  at 
Nagasaki.  One  of  Toyoharu’s  finest  de- 
signs. 


Date,  about  1770. 


6o.  Kitao  Shigemasa. 

Very  fine  large  square  print  of  a child 
kneeling  and  playing  on  a toy  stringed  in- 
strument devised  in  the  manner  of  a 
koto.  The  strong  lines  of  the  drapery, 
and  the  very  fine  treatment  of  the  hair, 
are  characteristic  of  this  rare  artist  at 
his  ripest.  We  have  already  seen  his 
early  work  in  beni-ye;  at  this  date  he  is 
the  strongest  rival  to  Koriusai  and  the 
young  Kiyonaga. 

Date,  about  1774. 


6i.  Kitao  Shigemasa. 

(Small  square  print  of  two  girls  cross- 
ing a rustic  bridge.  The  artist  has  al- 
ready discarded  Harunobu’s  use  of 
ground  tones  for  sky  and  earth.  He  treats 
his  soft  pearly  textures  of  costume  with 
great  delicacy. 

Date,  about  177 


62.  Katsukawa  Shunsho. 

Very  rare  and  striking  small  square 
print  of  a devil  descending  in  a storm 
to  the  very  gate  of  a temple,  and  dragging 
to  destruction  by  his  head  a warrior  in 
full  armor.  This  artist,  Shunsho,  was  at 


first  a pupil  of  Shunsui,  a son  of  Choshun, 
and  a man  who  worked  only  in  painting. 
But  after  Harunobu’s  polychromic  ex- 
periments he  changed  the  practice  of  his 
school,  and  became  one  of  the  leaders  in 
the  new  art,  color  printing.  The  granite 
of  the  temple  steps,  which  he  has  done  in 
spotted  grays  borrowed  from  Harunobu, 
serves  to  enhance  the  extraordinary  bril- 
liancy of  the  three  reds,  orange,  rose  and 
a dark  ochre.  The  finely  drawn  blacks 
of  the  supernatural  storm  add  to  the 
dramatic  intensity. 

Date,  1766  or  1767. 


63.  Shunsho. 

Very  fine  and  rare  actor  print.  A 
samurai  is  standing  at  the  entrance  of  a 
large  hall,  and  trying  to  defend  himself 
from  a shower  of  arrows  shot  by  his 
enemies  by  cutting  them  with  whirling 
strokes  of  his  sword  as  they  fly  through 
the  air. 

Shunsho  almost  immediately  after  1765 
supplants  the  whole  Torii  family  in  pro- 
ducing popular  prints  of  actors.  The 
whole  scheme  of  color  he  has  borrowed 
from  Harunobu. 


Date,  about  1769. 


64.  Shunsho. 

Small  square  print  in  the  style  of  Haru- 
nobu,  showing  two  girls  on  the  balcony 
of  a tea-house,  watching  a flight  of  sea- 
birds. The  distant  water  is  finely  shut 
out  by  an  incoming  bank  of  gray  mist. 
In  this  print  the  prevailing  Harunobu 
green  has  been  heightened  into  a pure 
yellow. 

Date,  1769  or  1770. 


65.  Shunsho. 

Striking  small  square  print  of  two 
scenes  separated  by  a jagged  diagonal. 
The  lower  scene  shows  a group  by  day 
in  late  summer  about  to  cross  over  a 
drum-bridge.  A small  boy  offers  his 
wares  of  ornamental  grasses  and  gourds. 
Above  is  a strange  group  of  the  crowded 
roofs  of  the  city  of  Yeddo  by  night,  under 
the  decorations  and  illuminations  of  the 
Tanabata  festival.  It  is  as  if  Christmas 
trees  stood  at  every  door.  The  print  is 
in  almost  the  state  of  a proof. 

Date,  about  1770. 


66.  Shunsho. 

Striking  actor  print  in  perfect  condi- 
tion, showing  a tall  male  figure  with 


folded  arms'  against  a background  of  the 
hagi  plant.  The  pattern  of  his  costume 
is  in  the  conventionalized  leaf  of  the 
icho  tree.  This  print  is  notable  for  the 
exquisite  condition  of  its  color,  in  which 
a very  luminous  warm  green,  accent- 
ed by  small  touches  of  dark  green,  con- 
trasts or  blends  with  the  soft  purples  of 
the  robe.  This'  print  has  probably  un- 
dergone little  fading,  since  it  was  the 
aim  of  both  artist  and  printer  at  this  day 
to  achieve  the  very  softest  effects  on 
some  of  their  first  impressions. 

Date,  about  1772. 


67.  Shunsho. 

Fine  actor  print  representing  a samu- 
rai in  deep  thought,  leaning  on  his  long 
s'word.  The  many  tones  are  now  frank- 
ly in  the  manner  of  Koriusai. 

Date,  about  1773. 


68.  Shunsho. 

Actor  print  in  two  tones,  representing 
a woodman  who  has  returned  from  cut- 
ting grasses  on  the  hills.  The  fine  pat- 
tern on  his  robe  of  herons  poising 
among  river-  reeds,  is'  noticeable. 

Date,  about  1775. 


6g.  Shunsho. 

Pine  actor  print  of  a young  girl  danc- 
ing a ceremonial  dance  with  two  whirl- 
ing white  banners.  The  colors  and  the 
treatment  of  the  hair  perfectly  corre- 
spond to  the  usages  of  Koriusai  at  this 
date.  The  whirling  garments  of  the 
dancer,  and  the  beauty  of  the  drawing  of 
the  head,  are  the  'chief  features. 

Date  1176,  or  1777. 


70.  Ippitsusai  Buncho. 

Actor  print  of  two  figures,  male  and 
female,  posing  in  the  dance  of  the  pe- 
onies. 

Buncho,  under  the  influence  of  Shun- 
sho, began  a rival  series  of  actor-prints 
soon  after  1765.  A rare  charm  attaches 
to  every  piece  of  his 'work. 

Date,  about  1767. 


71.  Ippitsusai  Buncho. 

Actor  print  showing  a young  girl  with 
a pipe,  standing  pensively  at  an  open 
door.  The  patterns  of  the  conventional 
fat  sparrows  on  her  sleeve,  of  the  bam- 
boo stems  upon  her  skirt,  and  of  the 
ritsuo-like  pines  inlaid  in  pearl  on  her 


lacquered  tray,  are  unusual  an(J  charm- 
ing. 

Date,  about  1768. 


72.  Ippitsusai  Buncho. 

Very  powerful  and  unusual  actor  print 
of  the  young  girl  who,  crazed  bv  passion, 
turns  into  the  dragon  of  the  Do-jo-ji 
bell.  The  drawing  of  the  pine  tree  in 
the  stage  scenery  is  of  remarl'able  force 
and  beauty.  The  use  of  the  strong  blue 
.in  the  sky  is  almost  unique. 

Date,  about  1770  or  1771. 


73.  Shunko. 

Actor  print  of  a tall  man  standing  by 
a river.  Shunko  is  the  leading  pupil  of 
Shunsho,  and  parallels  the  master’s  work 
between  1766  and  1785. 

This  should  date  about  1780. 


74.  Shunko. 

Actor  print.  Tall  girl  in  red,  green 
and  purple,  carrying  a small  yellow 
washtub.  The  drawing  is  in  the  late 
actor  style  of  the  School. 

Date,  about  1782. 


75.  Shunko. 

Actor  iprint  of  a tall  man  in  green  and 
purple  who  has  been  carrying  on  his 
back  a heavy  cabinet.  The  patterns  on 
the  robe  of  the  freely-written  characters 
of  a poem,  and  the  rough  design  of 
pine-trees  on  the  wall  behind  him,  are 
the  unusual  features. 

Date,  about  1783. 

76.  Shunko. 

Large  square  print  showing  a strong 
dramatic  grouping  of  two  actors.  Here 
the  style  is  partly  influenced  by  Kiyon- 
aga  and  partly  develops  a free,  pictur- 
esque manner  of  his  own  that  later  influ- 
enced Toyokuni. 

Date,  about  1786. 


77.  Torii  Kiyonaga. 

Early,  small  square  print  of  the  Haru- 
nobu  size.  Representing  two  women 
engaged  in  domestic  duties.  One,  ap- 
parently the  maid,  is  washing  bits  of 
cloth  in  a copper  pan.  The  standing 
woman  has  been  sewing  these  together 
for  a garment.  It  would  be  hard  to  de- 
scribe all  the  innovations',  full  of  the 


spirit  of  advance,  which  Kiyonaga  has 
introduced  into  this  striking  print.  The 
drawing  of  the  garments,  in  thick,  crisp 
strokes  instead  of  the  previous  hair  lines, 
gives  a new  naturalness  of  fall,  and 
■bringsi  figures  into  sharper  detachment 
from  the  untoned  sky.  The  use  of  blue 
upon  the  roibes  is  softer  than  Koriusai’s 
and  cut  with  remarkable  mottlings  of 
blue-gray  and  yellow-green.  Every  one 
of  the  crowded  accessories  is  so  drawn 
as  to  bring  out  new  character. 

Date,  1/77  or  ^778. 


78.  Kiyonaga. 

Kakemono-ye.  How  much  new  effect 
of  motion  Koyonaga  can  now  add  to  the 
dignified  compositions  already  produced  in 
this  shape  by  Harunobu  and  Koriusai  can 
be  seen  from  this  piece.  The  strong  draw- 
ing of  the  “tanabata”  tree  seen  with  its 
Christmas-like  pendants  through  the 
barred  window  shows  that  this  scene  is  a 
suggestion  in  terms  of  contemporary  life 
of  the  ancient  story  of  the  Star  of  the 
“Herd  Boy,”  forced  to  return  at  an  early 
hour  across  the  River  of  the  Milky  Way 
from  his  yearly  visit  to  his  love,  the  star 
of  the  “Weaver  Girl.” 


Date,  about  1781. 


79*  Kiyonaga. 

Charming  and  crisply  drawn  group  of 
a handsome  young  Samurai  under  the  gui- 
dance of  a priest,  turning  in  a plum  garden 
to  talk  to  two  young  girls  of  the  people. 
The  cool  scheme  of  the  colors,  centering 
in  the  contrast  of  a yellow-green  against 
velvet  black,  and  accented  with  a cherry 
pink,  is  quite  unlike  anything  seen  before 
in  Japanese  art.  This  Kiyonaga,  the 
adopted  son  of  the  veteran  Torii  Kiyomit- 
su,  has  broken  away  from  all  traditions  of 
his  school,  and  is  blending  all  the  fine  in- 
novations of  Harunobu,  Koriusai,  Shige- 
masa,  and  Shunsho  into  a new  and  sur- 
passing realism. 

Date,  1782  or  1783. 


8o.  Kiyonaga. 

Fine  kakemono-ye  of  a single  girl  stand- 
ing in  thought.  Her  white  cat  sleeps  on 
the  window  ledge.  Perhaps  it  is  the  sug- 
gestions of  the  tinkle  of  the  wind-bell, 
stirred  by  the  attached  poem,  which  has 
awakened  in  her  pensive  thoughts.  Be- 
hind the  soft  pearly  tones  of  the  dress 
Kiyonaga  has  set  two  tints  for  the  archi- 
tectural wood,  a pale  yellow  for  the  fresh 
carpentry,  and  retaining  the  tan  orange 
only  for  ancient  stained  panels. 

Date,  1783  or  1784. 


8i.  Kiyonaga. 

Large  square  print,  being  the  central 
panel  of  a triptych  representing  a gay  sup- 
per party.  Here  is  sake  drinking,  samisen 
playing  and  the  charming,  languid  inter- 
est of  the  young  waiter  girls.  Two  of  the 
little  heads  are  finely  drawn  from  behind, 
showing  that  the  long  tail  of  hair  behind 
the  neck,  which  has  been  curling  upward 
in  thinner  sweep  since  1725,  has  at  last 
been  reduced  to  a rudimentary  stump.  The 
lustrous  and  transparent  wings  over  the 
ears  are  now  held  out  in  finely  curved 
skeins  by  a framework  of  bamboo  visible 
at  the  tips.  The  new  cool  coloring  de- 
lights in  textures,  playing  in  sheens  of  the 
gauzy  overcoats,  and  in  the  brocading  of 
sashes. 

Date,  1784  or  1785. 


82.  Kiyonaga. 

One  of  a pair  of  large  square,  sunny, 
out-of-doors  scenes,  representing  the  do- 
mestic work  of  women  in  a garden.  Such 
private  gardens,  so  screened  and  so 
breaking  against  the  river’s  edge  can  still 
be  seen  along  the  upper  western  reaches 
of  the  Sumida.  The^  gray  masses  of  the 
stacked  timbers  on  the  farther  bank  show 
where  the  network  of  canals  give  access  to 


the  lumbermen,  one  of  whom  is  seen  pol- 
ing down  his  rafts.  In  the  absence  of. 
shadow  and  formal  perspective  it  seems 
incredible  that  foreground  figures  should 
so  detach  from  the  atmospheric  planes. 
This  is  achieved  mainly  by  values  and  the 
texture  of  outlines — deep  values  thrown 
against  light  grounds,  light  against 
softest  grays,  and  both  enlivened  by  tints 
of  warm  cherry  or  plum  purple.  The 
values  of  color  can  be  noted  in  the  sheer 
relief  of  the  crimson  cloth  soaking  in  the 
dish  of  orange  copper,  that  sets  upon  the 
irregular  granite  of  the  garden’s  stepping- 
stones.  The  violet  of  the  morning  glories 
in  the  foreground  just  peeps  through  the 
identical  sunny  values  of  the  grass  and  the 
leaves.  The  bright  red  band  is  of  washed 
cloth  stretched  in  the  air  to  dry. 

Date,  about  1786. 

83.  Kiyonaga. 

Companion  scene,  in  large  square  print, 
coming  at  the  left  of  the  previous.  Here 
a rustic  fence  separates  the  sunny  garden 
from  the  platform  of  the  kitchen  well, 
whose  water  is  pouring  into  the  low, 
coopered  tubs.  Here  the  master  utilizes 
every  device  for  detachment,  from  the 
warming  of  a girl’s  dress  by  under  toning 
the  cherry  pink  with  gold  to  the  startling 


silhouette  of  the  crouching  wash-maid  in 
jade-like  light  against  the  black  fence,  a 
contrast  which  would  reduce  the  cut-out 
figure  into  an  empty  patch  were  it  not  for 
the  extraordinarily  accented  drawing  of 
the  details  of  the  dress.  The  sunniness 
of  the  total  scheme,  though  no  shadow  be 
used,  is  the  dominant  note. 

Date,  about  1786. 


84.  Kiyonaga. 

Large  square  print,  showing  a charm- 
ing group  of  three  girls  looking  out  upon  a 
little  yard  in  winter.  The  cold  of  the  pre- 
vailing tone  finely  dififerentiates  the  season 
from  the  sunniness  of  the  previous  piece. 
There  is  sun  here,  but  it  has  an  icy  glint. 
A straw  covering  shelters  from  the  snow 
the  young  shoots  of  a potted  plant.  One 
girl  warms  her  feet  under  a kotatsu  and 
her  body  with  a cup  of  sake.  The  stand- 
ing girl  against  which  cuts  the  cool  wood 
of  a pillar,  is  one  of  the  most  statuesque 
figures  in  all  art,  worthy  of  a place  upon 
a Greek  vase. 

Date,  about  1786. 


85.  Kiyonaga. 

Charming  and  rare  small  square  print 
of  a young  girl  at  her  morning  ablutions 


on  a verandah.  A maid  sets  the  brass 
wash  bowl,  but  both  she  and  her  mistress 
pause  to  watch  the  opening  of  the  pale 
purple  cups  of  the  morning  glories.  The 
soft  diluted  tan  pink  of  the  woods  was, 
even  before  its  partial  oxidation,  thrown 
into  a soft  secondary  purple  by  its  cold- 
ness. 

Date,  about  1787. 


86.  Shuncho. 

Large  square  print,  being  one  of  a 
triptych  showing  crowded  groups  of  rich- 
ly dressed  girls  in  a bambo  garden. 
Here  the  figures  are  as  stately,  and  the 
tones  almost  as  sunny,  as  those  of  Kiyo- 
naga,  with  whom  Shuncho  supplanted 
Shunsho  as  his  master ; but  we  miss 
something  of  the  free  motion  and  the  al- 
most demonic  fire  of  penstroke  of  the 
master’s  figures.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
the  well  distinguished  methods  of  ren- 
dering the  near  and  the  distant  bamboo 
clumps. 

Date,  about  1786. 

87.  Shuncho. 

Companion  piece  of  the  same  triptych. 
Here  the  complicated  tones  upon  the  gar- 
ments of  the  five  figures  utilize  every  re- 


source^  Kiyonaga’s  teaching  for  richness, 
softness  and  warmth.  It  is  like  a new 
world  of  quiet  Greek  figures,  for  whom 
Keats  might  write  another  ode.  The 
glimpse  of  the  rustic  gate  and  villa  half 
hidden  in  the  distant  bamboo  grove  adds 
to  the  stately  charm. 

Date,  about  1786. 


88.  Shuncho  and  Shunyei. 

In  collaboration.  Large  square  print, 
showing  a domestic  group  of  three  per- 
sons. About  the  floor  are  musical  in- 
struments and  various  utensils,  suggest- 
ing that  this  may  be  the  improvised  dress- 
ing room  of  a geisha.  The  wings  of  the 
hair  have  now  become  much  smaller  and 
less  pointed. 

Date,  about  1790. 


8g.  Shunman. 

Large  square  print  showing  a group  of 
figures  about  a girl  washing  clothes  in 
a stream.  This  is  a portion  of  a triptych. 
Shunman,  at  first  a pupil  of  Shigemasa, 
came  under  the  influence  of  Kiyonaga 
soon  after  1780.  With  Yeishi  he  made 
experiments  in  colors  so  soft  that  they 
seemed  merely  to  modify  the  basic  grays. 


In  this  case  a yellow,  purple  and  green 
are  used  for  the  modification.  In  con- 
trast with  their  warmth  the  very  grays 
resolve  into  a pearly  blue.  The  small 
touches  of  brighter  colors  have  been  em- 
broidered upon  the  ground  by  some  later 
owner. 

Date,  about  1787. 

go.  Shunman. 

Kakemono-ye,  showing  two  girls  under 
a maple  tree.  Here  below  the  tree  Shun- 
man adds  to  his  grays  nothing  but  a 
suspicion  of  purple  upon  the  obis.  The 
faces  are  of  Kiyonaga’s  later  type. 

Date,  about  1790. 


gi.  Yeishi. 

Very  charming  small  square  print, 
showing  three  figures  resting  at  the  edge 
of  the  bay  of  Yeddo.  Here  all  the  magic 
of  tone  employed  by  Kiyonaga  to  give 
relief  without  shadows  is  again  employed. 
The  figures  seem  to  sv/im  in  a soft  sum- 
mer atmosphere. 

Yeishi  was  at  first  an  artist  of  the 
Kano  school,  being  a pupil  of  the  Sho- 
gun’s court  painter,  Kano  Yeisen,  whose 
touch  is  here  imitated  in  the  tree.  Some- 


where  about  1785  he  determined  to  be- 
come an  ukiyoye-shi,  and  suddenly 
jumped  into  the  full  wielding  of  Kiyona- 
ga’s  methods.  The  colors  of  his  cos- 
tumes are  here  beautifully  differentiated 
between  a warm  orange,  a pearl  blue,  and 
a plum  purple.  There  is  a special  charm 
in  the  sweetness  and  innocence  of  Yeishi’s 
early  heads.  This  is  in  the  condition  of 
an  original  proof. 

Date,  about  1787. 


92.  Yeishi. 

Small  square  print  of  three  girls  walk- 
ing in  the  grounds  of  the  great  temple  at 
Uyeno.  A great  green  bronze  water  ves- 
sel, in  the  shape  of  a lotus  leaf,  is  shown 
at  the  right.  At  the  left,  the  sacred  birds 
are  interestingly  rendered.  The  accent 
of  the  color  is  given  in  the  contrast  of 
the  tones  in  the  central  garment,  where  a 
velvety  black  is  broken  by  rose-spotted 
clouds  of  white. 

Date,  about  1788. 


93.  Yeishi. 

One  of  a specially  rich  and  finely  pre- 
served triptych  in  Yeishi’s  middle  man- 
ner, representing  a special  autumn  fete  in 


the  palace  gardens,  where  a band  of  fe- 
male musicians  play  court  music.  Here 
Yeishi  has  borrowed  the  sunny  yellows 
of  his  grounds  from  Kiyonaga.  They  are 
like  the  gold-leaf  upon  a palace  screen. 
Against  them  the  gray  tones  of  the  fore- 
ground become  pearly  blues.  In  some  of 
them  this  blue  is  enhanced  with  a suspi- 
cion of  pigment.  Against  this  double 
ground  of  gold  and  pearl  the  strong  notes 
are  four — a bright  purple-pink,  a more 
scarlet  pink  of  the  maple  leaves,  bits  of 
olive  green  on  the  right,  and  a few  glossy 
blacks  of  lacquer  and  dresses.  In  this 
way  a brilliant  chromatic  harmony  is  pro- 
duced, unlike  anything  before  seen  in 
Japanese  art. 

In  this  first  piece  upon  the  left  one 
of  the  girls  beats  the  great  dragon  drum. 
The  top  of  the  curtain  that  screens  the 
group  is  shown  in  the  lower  left  hand 
corner. 

Date,  about  1793. 


Yeishi. 

Central  piece  of  the  same  triptych.  This 
stands  for  the  most  brilliant  color  passage 
in  the  set.  It  may  be  seen  how  the  sec- 
ond tone  of  the  ground  yellows  is  differ- 
entiated by  mixing  with  the  softest  gray. 
Here  Yeishi  has  departed  from  Kiyona- 


ga’s  drawing  in  reducing  ithe  strokes  that 
bound  the  garments  to  hardly  more  than 
a hair  line ; but  the  counter  point  of  the 
three  central  figures  with  their  richly  pat- 
terned dresses  is  like  a stained  glass 
window. 

Date,  about  1793. 


95.  Yeishi. 

Same  triptych,  panel  on  the  right. 
Here  the  one  male  figure  of  the  group  is 
seated  in  full  ceremony,  his  arm  in  an  em- 
bossed white  robe  leaning  upon  a rest 
of  scarlet  and  gold  lacquer.  The  costumes 
of  his  attendants  play  in  deep  purple 
against  yellow,  green  upon  gray,  or  re- 
strained black  cutting  into  a soft  green. 

Dated,  about  1793. 


g6.  Yeishi. 

Three  pieces  of  a similar  triptych  set 
showing  sports  in  the  palace  grounds  of 
ancient  days.  The  plan  of  such  subjects 
is  generally  taken  from  the  old  Fujiwara 
romances,  such  as  Genji  Monogatari.  But 
there  is  no  attempt  to  get  historic  ac- 
curacy of  costume.  The  robes  approxi- 
mate to  those  worn  in  court  life  by  peo- 
ple of  the  Tokugawa  age,  but  the  treat- 


ment  of  the  women’s  hair  is  brought  into 
conformity  with  the  ever  changing  fash- 
ions of  the  belles  of  the  people.  Here 
the  gold  screen  effect  is  enhanced  by  the 
clouds  of  greenish  gold  introduced  above. 
In  this  first  left  panel  ladies  are  bring- 
ing various  utensils  from  the  interior  of 
the  palace.  The  purples  here  used  are  of 
a much  duller  and  grayer  tone,  and  the 
blues  are  sharper  and  less  pearly.  The 
color  of  the  palace  wood  work  is  here 
rendered  in  a soft  tan  pink,  instead  of 
the  deep  grays  of  the  previous  set. 

Date,  about  1794. 


97.  Yeishi. 

Central  piece  of  the  same  triptych. 

Girls  look  out  from  the  corner  of  the 
verandah  toward  the  central  scene  on  the 
right.  Small  pines  grow  from  hillocks 
in  the  distant  garden.  The  blues  here 
come  out  dark  against  the  sunny  ground. 

Date,  about  1794. 


98.  Yeishi. 

Third  panel  upon  the  right.  Here  the 
young  noble,  the  petted  darling  of  the 
court,  is  varying  his  occupation  of  listen- 


ing  to  music  with  a game  of  football.  With 
a two-lobed  ball  in  his  hand  he  is  walking 
toward  the  bamboo  enclosure,  where  this 
game  can  be  played  in  safety.  The  spiky 
leaves  of  the  pine  add  a third  green. 
These  last  two  triptychs  are  remarkable 
examples  of  Yeishi’s  art. 

Date,  about  1794. 


Yeishi. 

The  next  three  numbers  form  a well 
preserved  triptych  in  Yeishi’s  later  man- 
ner. It  represents  tall  girls  walking  or 
seated  in  an  improvised  rustic  booth, 
looking  at  the  scenery  of  an  artificial  gar- 
den, where  a paper  dragon  seems  to  spout 
water  in  a fountain,  and  a wild  tiger 
rages  on  a distant  hill.  Few  years  sepa- 
rate this  from  the  previous  triptychs,  but 
an  enormous  change  separates  the  work 
of  all  artists  of  this  day.  The  figures 
have  become  tall  and  slim,  the  heads 
very  oval,  with  long  noses  and  small  slits 
for  eye  and  mouth.  The  wings  over  the 
ears  have  become  much  smaller,  but  the 
bulk  of  the  hair  is  beginning  to  be  looped 
into  a great  balloon  shaped  member  that 
rises  from  the  back  of  the  head.  This 
quite  distinguishes  the  aesthetic  type  of 
this  day  from  the  beautifully  balanced 
heads  of  Kiyonaga  ten  years  earlier. 


In  this  first  print  on  the  left  the  tall 
standing  figure  of  a tea-house  girl  is  most 
typical  of  the  new  manner.  The  head  has 
the  picturesque  pose  of  an  Utamaro,  and 
more  stress  is  laid  upon  the  sheen  of  the 
gray  and  white  summer  blouse  than  to  the 
graceful  lines  of  its  fall.  Four  tones  of 
red  break  into  each  other  at  the  waist. 

Date,  about  1798. 

100.  Yeishi. 

Central  panel  of  the  same  triptych. 
These  closely  composed  figures  are  most 
typical  of  Yeishi’s  later  manner,  even 
as  seen  in  the  paintings  of  this  period. 
The  little  azalea  bush  in  the  distance  adds 
to  the  gaiety. 

Date,  about  1798. 

101.  Yeishi. 

Right  panel  of  the  same  triptych.  Two 
girls  enter  the  booth,  a lady  and  her  maid, 
followed  by  the  small  messenger  boy  of 
some  mercantile  house.  With  all  the  fa- 
cdity,  we  cannot  deny  that  a certain  care- 
lessness and  emptiness  shows  a degenera- 
tion from  such  full  designs  as  Kiyonaga 
and  Yeishi  himself  gives  us  about  1786. 

Date,  17Q8. 


102.  Utamaro. 


Large  square  print  showing  a riotously 
full  design  of  figures  at  a booth  by 
night. 

Utamaro’s  better  known  styles  are  his 
later,  but  whole  important  ranges  of 
his  work  precede.  At  first  a pupil  of 
Sekiyen,  he  takes  in  the  1770’s  the  name 
Toyoaki.  In  the  early  1780’s  he  riots  in  a 
style  of  closely  packed  lines  drawn  with 
a vigor  almost  as  great  as  Kiyonaga’s.  A 
mixture  of  the  latter’s  outline  with  Shi- 
gemasa’s  and  Sekiyen’s.  A year  or  two 
later  his  lines  become  fewer,  thinner  and 
more  restrained,  and  still  later  he  gives 
up  the  contest,  and  becomes  a worker  in 
the  pure  style  of  Kiyonaga. 

In  this  very  rare  early  print  we  come 
upon  the  second  of  these  four  move- 
ments. The  name  Utamaro  is  already 
signed  but  in  a square  seal  like  character. 
The  full  composition  is  quite  unlike  that 
of  any  other  artist,  being  full  of  move- 
ment and  incident.  The  colors  are  full 
and  gorgeous,  as  if  they  were  trying  to 
represent  heavily  loaded  pigment.  Here 
one  of  the  carriers  who  has  been  march- 
ing in  costume  in  the  great  street  proces- 
sion has  stopped  at  a booth  for  a cup  of 
sake.  Two  little  silver  spangled  maids 
of  one  of  the  belles  of  the  procession, 
who  is  probably  resting  within,  are 


proudly  examining  the  man’s  heavily  em- 
broidered robe,  upon  the  skirt  of  which 
a great  mythical  gold  spider  runs  down 
his  web.  The  conventional  balance  of 
Utamaro’s  later  lines  hardly  compensates 
for  the  loss  of  so  much  crowded  vitality. 

Date,  1782  or  1783. 


103.  Utamaro. 

Small  square  print  representing  an  in- 
terior where  a man  and  three  girls  are 
looking  at  a set  of  illustrated  books. 
Here  we  strike  Utamaro’s  fourth  stage, 
where  he  has  acquired  all  of  Kiyonaga’s 
subtleness.  The  colors  are  composed  for 
their  mosaic  values.  A screen  by  some 
Kano  master  decorates  the  background. 

Date,  about  1793. 


104.  Utamaro, 

Large  square  print,  showing  an  inter- 
esting scene  of  the  kitchen  of  a large  tea- 
house at  New  Year’s  time.  One  girl  is 
ladling  some  hot  liquid  into  a cup  asked 
for  by  the  maid  who  holds  the  black  cup 
stand  on  the  left.  On  the  shelf  over  the 
window  buckets  and  pans  alternate  with 
the  dough  offering  to  the  household  gods. 


The  hangings  of  the  upper  left  are  of  the 
New  Year’s  straw. 

Date,  about  1794. 


105  Utamaro. 

Large  square  print,  showing  the  inte- 
rior and  garden  hills  of  a rich  tea-house. 
The  standing  lady  has  just  stopped  to 
read  the  letter  taken  from  a lacquered 
box,  which  describes  the  gift  of  splendid 
peonies  growing  in  a basket.  Far  within 
a group  of  girls  is  practicing  a dance  for 
the  evening.  The  temple  lanterns  and 
groves  are  in  the  beautiful  realistic  man- 
ner that  Utamaro  uses  for  illustrated 
books  at  this  date.  The  perspective  is 
almost  faultless. 

Date,  about  1795. 


106.  Utamaro. 

Large  square  print,  showing  a new  kind 
of  design,  namely  the  portrait  in  half- 
length  of  a prominent  Yeddo  belle.  The 
girl  is  here  represented  in  informal,  in- 
door costume,  and  the  tints  have  been 
softened  to  harmonize  with  the  silvery 
ground  of  the  specially  prepared  paper. 
Prints  of  this  sort,  drawing  heads  on  a 
much  larger  scale,  form  a complete  inno- 
vation in  the  history  of  the  Art,  and  what 


we  may  call  the  beginning  of  Utamaro’s 
fifth  manner.  At  this  date  the  pictur- 
esque coiling  of  the  hair  does  not  yet 
expand  to  extraordinary  proportions.  It 
would  seem  that  Utamaro  first  won  his 
great  Yeddo  popularity  with  this  change. 

Date,  about  1796. 

107.  Utamaro. 

Portrait,  showing  only  head  and  shoul- 
ders of  a Yeddo  belle  at  her  toilet.  Du- 
ring the  brief  interval  Utamaro’s  innova- 
tions have  become  far  more  sensational, 
filling  the  sheet  with  the  largely  drawn 
flesh  outlines,  and  with  the  great  masses 
of  the  hair  that  have  now  expanded  into 
the  exaggerated  proportions  of  a black 
balloon.  How  carefully  Utamaro  planned 
for  new  sensations  in  his  realisms  can 
be  seen  in  the  extraordinarily  refined 
drawing  and  toning  of  the  hair  where  it 
springs  from  the  line  of  the  forehead. 
No  doubt  Utamaro  partly  followed  and 
partly  forced  new  extravagancies  of  fash- 
ion with  his  strange  aesthetic  fancies. 

Date,  about  1798. 

108,  Utamaro. 

Domestic  scene  of  a woman  inspecting 
a piece  of  gauzy  black  cloth.  Her  child, 


leaning  over  her  knee,  plays  with  her 
fan.  One  sees  needles  and  pins  stuck  in 
her  red  pincushion ; scissors  and  footrule 
lie  dropped  upon  the  floor. 

Date,  about  1798. 


log.  Utamaro. 

Full  length  standing  portrait  of  a Yed- 
do  belle.  The  elongating  proportions  now 
advance  by  leaps.  The  heads  have  now 
become  about  one-twelfth  of  the  body’s 
height,  and  the  slenderness  which  this  en- 
tails on  arms,  legs  and  neck  is  part  of  the 
very  Beardsley-like  aestheticism  which 
Utamaro  affects.  It  is  perhaps  the  enor- 
mity of  the  growing  hair  which  tips  all 
normal  scales  out  of  balance.  But  Uta- 
maro does  not  forget  to  draw  every  detail 
with  a refinement  of  sentimental  impres- 
sion and  to  treat  the  texture  of  his  stuffs, 
as  here  spotted  with  blue  morning-glories 
as  a new  artistic  asset. 

Date,  about  1799. 


no.  Utamaro. 

Charming  print  on  tinted  paper,  show- 
ing an  immensely  tall  girl  in  her  night- 
robe  being  offered  a cup  of  morning  tea 
by  her  maid.  No  amount  of  manifest 


exaggeration  can  detract  from  our  en- 
joyment of  such  drawing;  rather  does  the 
very  abandon  and  suggestion  of  the  lines 
compose  for  us  a new  aesthetic  charm. 
In  thus  passing  from  the  stateliness  of 
Kiyonaga  to  a romantic  realism  vital 
with  the  instantaneous  sway  of  stuffs,  it 
appears  that  Utamaro  first  found  full 
play  for  an  erratic  and  somewhat  deca- 
dent genius  that  first  showed  itself  in  the 
disorderly  crowds  of  his  boyish  work. 
The  sharpness  of  the  lines  here  show  an 
early  proof. 

Date,  about  1799. 


Ill*  Utamaro. 

Domestic  group  showing  three  figures 
at  toilet.  The  remarkable  drawing  of  the 
crumpled  letter  leads  to  the  magnificent 
sway  of  the  central  gray  woman  who 
leans  under  the  double  motive  of  reading 
and  of  dipping  her  hand  into  her  brocad- 
ed tobacco-pouch.  The  little  girl  beyond 
experiments  in  balancing  her  own  pre- 
carious balloon. 

Date,  about  1799. 

1 1 2.  Utamaro. 

This  and  the  next  two  pieces  form  a 
single  design  in  triptych  of  a group  of 


women  awaking  on  a warm  summer 
morning.  In  this  the  tall  servant  on  the 
left  is  just  detaching  the  string  which 
has  held  a corner  of  the  great  green  mos- 
quito net  to  the  ceiling.  A reclining  girl 
in  blue  talks  to  the  maid  while  she 
awaits  her  release  from  the  heavy  net. 
The  upraised  arms  are  very  charmingly 
drawn. 

Date,  about  1799. 


1 13.  Utamaro. 

Second  panel  of  the  same  set.  Within 
the  net  a girl  who  has  just  thrown  off 
the  striped  coverlet  scratches  her  head 
with  a hairpin,  while  the  standing  figure 
without  ties  up  her  loose  gray  day  robe 
with  a small  under-sash. 

Date,  about  1799. 


1 14.  Utamaro. 

Right  hand  print  of  the  same  set.  The 
striking  figure  here  is  that  of  the  maid 
who  comes  with  her  hair  tied  in  the  stump 
of  a balloon  to  bring  the  gauzy  over  robe 
for  her  mistress.  The  pattern  of  the 
printed  blue  stuff  of  the  maid’s  dress 
shows  new  resources  in  drawing. 

Date,  about  1799. 


1 1 5-  Utamaro. 

This  and  the  two  following  form  a con- 
tinuous scene,  showing  figures  of  tall 
girls  walking  or  resting  by  the  banks  of 
the  Sumida  river  on  the  night  of  “Bon 
Matsuri.”  Here  the  colors  of  the  illumi- 
nated figures  on  the  shore  come  into 
greater  brilliancy  in  contrast  with  the 
grays  of  the  boats  and  the  Ringoku 
bridge.  Especially  fine  is  the  small  boy 
who  holds  the  lantern,  with  his  blue  robe 
and  orange  sash. 

Date,  1799  or  1800. 

1 1 6.  Utamaro. 

Middle  panel  of  the  same  set.  The 
river  fete  is  rendered  finely  luminous  by 
the  festoons  of  pink  lanterns  on  the  boats 
and  the  serpentine  fireworks.  On  the  three 
foreground  figures  there  is  a strange  com- 
bination of  at  least  six  quiet  red  tones. 
Such  sparkling  nocturne  effects  doubt- 
less stimulated  Whistler  to  compose  into 
rectangular  paintings  the  kaleidoscopic 
lights  on  the  Thames. 

Date,  1799  or  1800. 

1 1 7.  Utamaro. 

Right  panel  of  the  same  triptych.  In 
this  we  have  a strong  passage  of  grays  on 


grays,  rendered  all  the  richer  by  the 
sheen  on  the  thin-printed  blacks  of  the 
seated  lady’s  dress.  She  seems  nearly 
pulled  over  backward  by  the  unbalanced 
weight  of  her  balloon. 

Date,  1799  or  1800. 


1 8.  Utamaro. 

Very  striking  design  of  figures  catch- 
ing fireflies  at  night  under  a willow  tree. 
It  is  with  fans  that  the  little  insects  are 
beaten  down,  to  be  stored  by  the  small 
boy  in  his  lacquered  cage.  The  strange 
tones  of  the  costumes  are  so  finely  iso- 
lated as  to  give  a most  vivid  impression, 
the  blacks  and  silver  feathers  of  the  cen- 
tral obi  taking  on  almost  a tone  of  purple. 
The  effect  of  the  other  sash,  orange 
against  pearl  gray,  is  almost  weird. 

Date,  about  1800. 


ig.  Utamaro. 

Plate  belonging  to  the  same  set  as  the 
previous.  The  tall,  slim  woman  in  gray 
catches  up  her  skirts  in  preparation  to  de- 
part, while  the  little  attendant  peeps  into 
her  cage  to  see  whether  she  has  fireflies 


enough.  The  balloon  here  reaches  its  ex- 
treme of  extravagance. 

Date,  about  1800. 


120.  Utamaro. 

Large  heads  of  two  kitchen  girls.  With 
a large  brass  knife  the  girl  in  red  cuts 
a cake  of  bean  curd  into  slices.  The 
drawing  of  the  kerchiefs  that  protect  the 
hair  is  striking. 

Date,  about  1801. 


I2I.  Utamaro. 

Striking  and  unusual  large,  tall,  nar- 
row print  of  two  finely  contrasted  figures 
in  a boat  under  a bridge.  The  girl  has 
just  caught  a fish  which  she  holds  firmly 
on  the  end  of  the  line.  The  man,  in  a 
splendid  checked  robe  of  grays,  in  dip- 
ping up  the  river  water  with  his  sake  cup 
sees  his  own  flattened  reflection  in  the 
somewhat  turbid  stream.  This  is  one  of 
the  rare  instances  where  Japanese  design- 
ers have  introduced  reflections  in  water. 
In  this  case  the  symmetrical  repetition  of 
the  lines  finely  enriches  the  composition. 


Date,  about  1802. 


122.  Utamaro. 


This  and  the  next  four  pieces  compose 
one  of  Utamaro’s  rarest  and  most  splen- 
did pentaptychs.  The  crowds  surging 
through  the  terraces  of  a great  temple 
gate  are  wonderfully  unified,  in  their  rich 
mottling,  by  the  enormous  hanging  lan- 
tern of  the  central  portal.  It  is  a pic- 
turesque jumble  of  green  and  olive  skirts, 
sleeves  and  sashes,  broken  with  irregular 
black  spots  of  hair  and  hood  and  lacquer, 
and  against  rosy  tinted  pillars  and  the 
network  of  the  cages  behind  which  bluster 
the  carved  temple  guardians.  Servants 
force  their  way  with  dragon  lanterns  and 
festival  decorations,  while  on  the  right 
is  hung  a perfect  checkerboard  of  baskets, 
sieves,  banners,  shrines,  water  buckets 
and  gigantic  umbrellas. 

In  this  left  plate  crowds  press  in  with 
an  enormous  straw  hanging  in  shape  of  a 
twist. 

Date,  about  1803. 


123.  Utamaro. 

Second  panel  from  left  of  the  same  set. 
Here  figures  emerge  wrapped  in  black 
hoods  and  carrying  strange  symbols  of 
folded  paper  and  quivers  of  arrows  in 
wooden  buckets. 


Date,  about  1803. 


124-  Utamaro. 

Central  ])anel  of  the  same  set.  Every- 
one seems  carrying  home  some  toy  or 
symbol.  The  boy  on  the  left  bears  a 
gigantic  “Daruma”  doll,  while  the  little 
fellow  on  his  father’s  shoulder  triumphs 
in  a long  bamboo  spray  hung  with  coins, 
masks  and  fishes  made  of  dough. 

Date,  about  1803. 


125.  Utamaro. 

Second  panel  from  the  right.  The  con- 
fusion grows  greater  as  we  approach  the 
right.  The  sacred  pigeons  fly  about,  dis- 
turbed. Sacred  tokens  of  lobster  and 
evergreens  are  carried  off  in  a tray.  The 
small  boys  let  out  for  a holiday  are  hav- 
ing more  than  their  share  of  the  fun. 

Date,  about  1803. 


126.  Utamaro. 

Last  panel  on  the  right.  The  perspec- 
tive here  is  fine,  as  the  viewer  seems  to 
look  down  on  the  first  of  the  booths  that 
sweep  backward  from  the  edge  of  the 
gate.  Finely  carved  wood  ware  is  here 
sold,  a boy  in  red  holds  out  a nest  of 
rice-boxes  to  a lady.  Under  the  umbrella 


probably  crouches  an  old  woman  who 
takes  the  change. 

Date,  about  1803. 


127.  Sharaku. 

This  and  the  four  following  impressions 
are  selected  from  the  Sharaku  Collection, 
which  comprises  eighteen  different  ex- 
amples. 

Large,  ugly,  realistic  head  of  a man 
against  a dull  silver  ground.  This  artist 
was  doubtless  influenced  by  the  new 
movement  toward  extravagance  to  try 
new  experiments  in  rivalry  with  Utamaro. 
His  work  seems  to  have  lasted  but  a very 
few  years,  hardly  more  than  from  1796 
to  1802.  His  is  the  apotheosis  of  the 
ugly  under  the  plea  of  realism,  a thing 
that  may  be  said  of  many  of  the  ultra 
impressions  in  modern  French  art.  But 
the  power  of  his  impressions  is  unques- 
tionable, and  his  holding  of  the  tones 
down  to  broad  grays  and  blacks  makes  us 
think  of  the  simplicity  of  the  schemes 
of  Goya  and  Yanet.  It  is  this  affinity 
with  extreme  modern  European  tenden- 
cies that  has  made  the  French  the  chief 
buyers  of  the  work  of  this  artist. 

Date,  about  1797. 


128.  Sharaku. 

Striking  portrait  of  a man  in  the  cos- 
tume of  a carrier  in  a procession  peering 
out  of  a crowd.  The  keenness  of  the 
glance  startles  us  like  an  apparition. 

Date,  about  1797. 

129.  Sharaku. 

Large  head  of  a woman.  The  printing 
of  these  designs  is  very  carefully  execut- 
ed against  a low-toned  silver  ground, 
which  makes  the  untinted  whiteness  of 
the  faces  the  more  ghastly.  The  exces- 
sive slant  of  the  eyes  and  of  the  eye- 
brows helps  to  throw  the  absurdly  elon- 
gated head  of  the  day  into  harmony  with 
the  top-heavy  coiffure,  as  if  the  very 
strain  of  the  hair  upon  the  roots  pulled 
the  eyes  nearly  out  of  their  sockets. 

Date,  about  1798. 

130.  Sharaku. 

Fine  head  of  a strange  old  lady.  The 
power  of  the  impression  is  like  that 
which  pursues  us  after  waking  from  a 
fantastic  dream.  The  eyebrows  rise  al- 
most back  to  back.  The  eyes  are  little 
inlaid  beads  of  ebony.  The  nose  is  so 


thin  and  sensitive  that  you  can  barely 
trace  it,  and  the  little  slit  of  a mouth 
holds  back  a smile  that  suggests  a carica- 
ture of  Mona  Lisa.  It  is,  after  all,  the 
splendor  of  the  spreading  hair,  like  some 
magical  night-flower,  that  gives  a name- 
less distinction  to  the  head. 

Date,  about  1799. 


1 31.  Sharaku. 

Portrait  of  the  same  woman  in  fine 
composition  with  the  head  of  a fat 
friend.  The  eyes  fairly  twinkle  with  the 
malice  of  their  gossip.  It  is  rare  to  find 
more  than  a single  large  head  on  a sheet 
of  this  artist. 

Date,  about  1799. 


132.  Utagawa  Toyokuni. 

This  and  the  two  following  numbers 
show  us  a very  finely  designed  and  pre- 
served triptych,  representing  complicated 
groups  in  the  large  hall  of  a tea-house. 
Here  Tolokuni,  the  pupil  of  Toyoharu, 
has  well  combined  his  master’s  architec- 
tural perspective  with  the  fine  tints  on 
costumes,  purples  warming  pearly  grays 
and  blacks,  introduced  by  Yeishi  a little 


before  this  date.  The  soft  tan  pink  of 
the  paneled  ceiling  combined  with  the 
warm  green  plaster  above  the  lintels 
makes  a brilliant  background  in  its  night 
lighting  for  the  striking  roups. 

In  this  print  a servant  brings  up  the 
stairs  a lacquered  tray  surmounted  with 
a horticultural  decoration  of  the  congra- 
tulatory pine  and  bamboo  growing  out 
of  a laden  treasure-ship.  A languid  girl 
regards  it  with  hardly  more  interest  than 
she  gives  to  shaking  the  soft  paw  of  the 
cat  she  holds  in  her  arms.  How  finely 
the  gray  of  the  male  servant  is  subordi- 
nated to  the  velvet  black  of  a girl’s  loose 
coat,  a black  whose  play  against  green 
seems  to  lend  it  a suspicion  of  a plum 
blue. 

Date,  about  1795. 


133.  Toyokuni. 

Middle  panel  of  the  same  set.  Here 
the  incredibly  rich  complication  of  the 
mosaiced  tones  would  require  a whole 
chapter  for  dissection.  Against  the  gold 
and  green  of  the  floors  and  the  satin 
pinks  of  the  woods  and  the  soft  purples 
of  the  girls,  a scheme  of  about  six  grays, 
ranging  from  pale  porcelain  glaze  to  satin 
black,  seems  to  take  on  such  a positive 
color  that  it  is  the  colors  which  fall  back 


into  neutrality.  As  for  the  finest  grays 
on  the  man’s  robe,  'they  are  made  the 
more  brilliant  by  little  cuttings  of  yellow 
and  green.  In  the  robe  of  the  crouching 
girl  drinking  sake,  the  purples  are  broken 
now  with  white,  now  with  yellow  and 
gray,  and  again  with  blacky  white  and 
green.  No  less  complicated  are  the  cos- 
tumes of  the  small  group  in  the  middle 
distance.  It  seems  strange  that  the  quiet 
gray  of  a light  porcelain  bowl  should 
center  the  whole  brilliant  scheme. 

Date,  about  1795. 


34.  Toyokuni. 

Panel  on  the  right  of  this  set.  The 
grand  lady  of  this  occasion  is  just  having 
the  last  touches  to  her  costume  given  by 
the  little  maids,  whose  heads  are  each 
a forest  of  tinselled  hair-pins.  There 
is  less  breadth  to  this  as  an  independent 
composition,  but  it  plays  in  finely  with 
the  tones  of  the  whole  triptych. 

Date,  about  1795. 


35.  Toyokuni. 

This  and  the  two  following  prints 
compose  another  of  Toyokuni’s  finest 


triptychs.  Groups  of  figures  lounge  in 
the  park,  where  the  chief  attraction  is  the 
wired  cages  of  a great  aviary. 

Here  the  composition  retains  much  of 
the  out-of-door  sunniness  of  Kiyonaga. 
The  colors,  too,  glowing,  yet  not  obtrus- 
ive, are  very  close  to  Shuncho  at  his  best. 

Date,  about  1795. 


136.  Toyokuni. 

Central  panel  of  the  same  set.  The 
three  girls  are  here  statuesque  in  pose, 
even  almost  Greek.  The  crossed  tim- 
bers of  a Shinto  temple  roof  cut  the 
distance.  The  drawing  of  the  trees  re- 
tains something  of  European  tinge  bor- 
rowed from  the  Dutch. 

Date,  about  1795. 


137.  Toyokuni. 

Right  panel  of  the  same  set.  The  rus- 
tic details  of  the  garden  and  the  two- 
storied  house  rising  above  its  bamboo 
fence  are  finely  suggested.  A small  Ki- 
yonaga-ish  boy  brings  a rude  tobacco 
tray,  while  the  one-sworded  man  looks 
back  at  the  three  Greek  girls  of  the  cen- 
tral panel. 


Date,  about  1795 


138.  Toyokuni. 

This  and  the  two  following  numbers 
compose  a rare  triptych  of  large  figures 
of  girls  disposing  .themselves  on  a tea- 
house terrace  overlooking  the  river.  The 
causeway  of  the  distant  bank  is  pictur- 
esquely rendered,  a bank  which  since  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  has  been 
all  overgrown  with  the  splendid  cherry- 
park  of  Mukojima.  In  this  piece  the 
lines  of  the  drapery  get  force  from  being 
drawn  at  crisp  angles.  The  heads  are 
finely  posed.  Were  it  not  for  'the  fine 
sketch  of  chrysanthemums  on  the  screen 
there  would  he  no  central  accent. 

Date,  about  1797. 


139.  Toyokuni. 

Central  panel  of  the  triptych.  The 
crouching  figure  holds  up  a brass  hi- 
bachi.  We  see  the  same  elongating  fig- 
ure, used  by  Yeishi  and  Utamaro,  show- 
ing it  to  be  a popular  fashion. 

Date,  about  1797. 


140.  Toyokuni. 

Panel  on  the  right.  This  charming  and 
freely  composed  group  shows  us  again 


the  fan  and  the  little  decorated  cage  of 
the  fire-fly  catchers.  Figures  on  the  dis- 
tant shore  stop  to  watch  the  flight  of 
birds.  The  steps  of  a ferry  landing 
open  to  the  left. 

Date,  about  1797. 

141.  Toyokuni. 

Striking  design  of  a maid  scrubbing 
her  mistress  in  a hot  water  bath-tub. 
There  is  the  same  directness  of  impres- 
sion without  the  exaggeration  of  Shar- 
aku.  A rare  feature  is  the  finely-drawn 
shadows  on  the  wall  of  the  bamboo  racks 
and  the  bits  of  discarded  costume.  This 
shadow  indicates  a strong  light  falling 
through  a narrow  window  h?gh  up  on 
the  side  of  the  spectator.  Here  the 
fully  developed  balloon  and  the  extreme 
oval  of  the  faces  indicate  a date  about 
1800. 


142.  Hokusai. 

Fine  boad  landscape,  in  which  figures 
gaze 'from  the  bank  at  the  fireworks  let 
off  from  the  Ringoku  bridge.  The 
breadth  of  treatment  in  the  distant  shore, 
drawn  in  soft,  wet,  blended  washes,  is 
nearer  to  Whistler  than  the  bridges  of 
Utamaro.  The  play  of  the  children  on 


the  old  boom  that  projects  from  the  tim- 
ber stack,  is  most  characteristic  of  the 
artist.  The  tall  figures,  with  over-bal- 
anced hair  prove  that  this  should  be  dat- 
ed about  1802. 


143.  Hokusai. 

Interesting  print  of  a scene  from  the 
No  opera,  in  which  the  girl,  once  loved 
by  a prince,  carries  sea-water  in  her 
buckets  for  the  salt  manufacture.  Hu- 
kusai’s  style  has  greatly  changed  since  the 
preceding  print,  for  now  line  of  a certain 
formal  sort  takes  first  place. 

Date,  about  1826. 


144.  Hokusai. 

One  of  the  famous  sets  of  the  thirty- 
six  views  of  Fuji.  Here  is  shown  a 
corner  of  a Yeddo  canal  where  great 
piles  of  lumber  and  of  firewood  are 
stacked.  The  deep  blue  tiled  roofs  of  the 
distant  store  houses  contrast  finely  with 
the  warm  color  of  the  wood. 

Date,  about  1830  to  1835. 


145.  Hokusai. 

Very  unusual  and  large  print  of  a ser- 
ies which  illustrates  scenes  from  poems. 


Here  we  have  a most  striking  composi- 
tion in  the  style  of  Hokusai’s  most  elab- 
orate paintings.  The  scene  is  steeped 
in  the  melancholy  feeling  of  autumn. 
Wild  birds  by  from  the  north  in  the 
path  of  the  moon.  The  farmer  stacks 
in  straw  baskets  the  grain  that  he  has 
threshed  from  the  stalks  which  are  now 
tied  to  the  stem  of  the  tree.  The  beat- 
ing of  the  cloth  in  preparation  for  the 
winter’s  sewing  is  poetically  associated 
with  feelings  of  longing  and  sadness. 
The  fine  pyramid  of  the  distant  temple 
roof  well  completes  the  composition. 

Date,  1830  to  1835. 


146.  Hokusai. 

Another  brilliant,  piece  of  the  same 
large  set.  Here  the  stately  figure  of  a 
Chinese  gazes  at  a huge  waterfall  that 
plunges  into  a chasm.  His  two  boy  at- 
tendants try  to  hold  him  back  from  the 
abyss.  The  color  is  very  rich,  but  spec- 
ially fine  is  the  soft  drawing  of  the  tree 
clumps  and  reeds  that  rise  behind  the 
group  of  figures. 

Date,  1830  to  1835. 


147.  Hokusai. 

Another  of  the  same  set.  An  old  far- 
mer crosses  a tumbling  stream  on  a rustic 


bridge.  The  treatment  of  the  river 
grasses  and  the  copse  behind  which  the 
moon  rises  is  the  finest  part  of  it. 

Date,  1830  to  1835. 


148.  Hokusai. 

Brilliant  wide  print  illustrating  one  of 
the  scenes  of  the  anthology  of  a hundred 
poems.  As  usual  in  Hokusai’s  work  the 
scene  is  full  of  realistic  details.  A porter 
bearing  leaves  in  his  basket  throws  down 
his  load  and  stoops  to  tie  his  sandal.  On 
the  stone  steps  of  the  descending  path 
travellers  in  Norimons  are  making 
haste  not  to  be  belated  at  evening.  The 
path  leads  from  a hillside  pass,  where  the 
roofs  of  a village  are  seen  far  below, 
and  then  leads  across  the  marsh  in  zigzag 
lines  of  causeway.  The  waning  light  of 
day  is  already  throwing  up  the  boun- 
daries of  the  distant  trees  into  shadowy 
masses  and  damp  mists  are  creeping  over 
the  valley. 

Date,  1835  to  1840. 


149.  Hiroshige. 

Brilliant  landscape  design  of  the  ma- 
ple trees  on  the  temple  grounds  of  Tofu- 
ku-ji.  This  is  one  of  the  series  of  fam- 


ous  Kioto  places.  The  composition  is 
beautifully  completed  without  lifting  the 
eye  as  high  as  the  sky  line. 

Date,  about  1825. 


150.  Hiroshige. 

Another  of  the  famous  scenes  of  Ki- 
oto, brilliantly  representing  the  river  at 
the  foot  of  the  well-known  Arashiyama. 
Here  the  hills  are  famous  for  their  dot- 
ting of  wild  cherry  trees.  The  boatmen 
plunge  down  the  rapids  on  their  frail 
raft.  Here  again  the  sky-line  is  not  seen. 

Date,  about  1825. 


1 5 1.  Hiroshige. 

One  of  the  series  of  the  Eight  Scenes 
of  Lake  Biwa.  The  foreground  shows  a 
little  gray  harbor  whence  the  fishing  and 
the  passage  boats  make  their  way  across 
to  the  distant  shore  of  Otsu.  Beyond  the 
low  hills  rises  into  the  warm  sky,  though 
half  obscured  by  mists,  the  mighty  bulk 
of  the  sacred  Mount  Hiye.  Here  the 
strata  of  evening  orange  in  the  sky  con- 
trasting with  the  deep  shadow  blues  of 
the  hills  and  the  horizon  composes  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  color  passages  in 


the  whole  range  of  Japanese  color  land- 
scape. 

Date,  1825  to  1830. 

152.  Hiroshige. 

Tall,  narrow  print  of  a series  illus- 
trating famous  views  in  Yeddo.  Here 
we  see  the  brightly  shingled  roofs  of  a 
river  suburb,  behind  which  from  their 
sacred  grove  rise  the  jewel-like  roofs  of 
an  old  temple.  This  set  gives  us  some 
of  the  most  unusual  of  Hiroshige’s  com- 
positions. 

Date,  1835  to  1840. 


I S3*  Hiroshige. 

One  of  a late  set  of  53  views  on  the 
Tokaido.  A heavy  snowstorm  is  cover- 
ing the  villages  and  the  hills.  Hiroshige 
is  particularly  happy  in  his  rendering  of 
vast,  cold  reaches  of  snow.  The  little 
sharp  lines  of  the  tree-stems  come  up 
like  strokes  of  an  etcher’s  needle. 

Date,  1845  to  1850. 


154.  Hiroshige. 

This  and  the  next  two  numbers  form 
a very  fine  triptych  showing  the  rocky 


reaches  and  indentations  of  the  north- 
western coast  near  Kanazawa.  Without 
any  embroidery  of  captivating  colors 
Hiroshige  makes  of  the  sheer  contrast  in 
values  between  the  gray  shore  and  the 
luminous  bay  a noble  and  interesting 
impression. 

Date,  about  1850. 


55.  Hiroshige. 

Central  piece  of  the  same  set.  The 
fine  drawing  by  which  Hiroshige  throws 
the  planes  of  his  nearer  shore  into  dis- 
tance is  noticeable. 


56.  Hiroshige. 

Right  panel  of  the  same  set.  A little 
causeway,  with  bridges  in  the  fore- 
ground, is  imitated  from  the  larger  struc- 
tures thrown  across  the  western  lake  at 
Hang  Chow,  China.  The  restraint  of 
drawing  in  the  distant  mountain  ranges 
is  wonderful. 


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